Scots islanders left with no ferry service after CalMac hits pier

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots islanders have been left without a service after a CalMac ferry collided with the pier. The MV Hebrides struck Lochmaddy pier in North Uist, Outer Hebrides, on Wednesday night - resulting in a number of cancelled sailings.

Routes between Lochmaddy, Uig on Skye and Tarbert on Harris were all halted to allow engineers to assess the damages. A spokeswoman for CalMac said: “This is a significant disruption for our communities, and we sincerely apologise for this at what is already a very difficult time for them with the loss of MV Lord of the Isles. “Our immediate priority is to ensure lifeline services such as food supplies and urgent medical care can be transported.“Our immediate priority is to ensure lifeline services such as food supplies and urgent medical care can be transported.“Removing vessels from routes is always a very difficult decision and one we would rather not make, but our options are extremely limited, and this is the only way to protect lifeline services at short notice."This redeployment means that all islands will continue to receive a service during this current disruption.“We are keeping customers informed and will provide another update as soon as a full assessment of the required repairs has been completed in Greenock.” A temporary repair was conducted of the MV Hebrides in Greenock last night.

It comes shortly after MV Lord of the Isles was withdrawn from the service on Tuesday to conduct essential repairs.MV Lord of the Isles is expected to be back in service on the Mallaig-Lochboisdale route next week, STV News reports. Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .