Alfred

The £1 million per month charter of the 'Alfred' from Pentland Ferries was due to expire on Feb 28), leaving CalMac with less resilience across the ferry network. The catamaran was due to head for an annual overhaul after having its charter extended several times over the past three years. There have been discussions about extending the charter again, potentially to cover gaps on other routes, like the Oban–Barra, where the 'Isle of Lewis' wass in extended dry dock stay. But Transport Scotland has stated that no extension has been agreed. The official charter expiry date ca,e as the new Turkish-built ferry 'Isle of Islay' arrived in Greenock on Feb 22. The new ferry was due to enter service in March, which CalMac hoping this would reduce the need for the 'Alfred’s continued hire. Originally announced in March 2023 as a nine-month charter to CalMac, the catamaran's charter has been extended on numerous occasions to provide backup for ferry services, including those in the Western Isles. The cost of the charter since May 2023 has reached more than £17 million, £3 million more than Pentland Ferries paid to buy the vessel outright in 2019. Meanwhile CalMac has announced the need for additional steelwork on the 'Isle of Lewis', so the company was reviewing deployment plans between early March and the end of May. Steel wastage was discovered on top of a fuel tank. This needed to be repaired to get the necessary regulatory approvals to return to service, and a temporary repair was unlikely to be possible. The drydock operator has advised that the timeline for the work could be up to three months. Fuel has been drained from the tank, and there was equipment including the sewage treatment plant, ballast pumps, fire pumps and associated pipework that needed to be removed to complete the steel renewal. The removal, reinstatement and commissioning of this equipment contributes to the timeline. The 'Isle of Lewis' will therefore not be available for the remainder of winter or the start of the summer timetable, and her overhaul was going to run through the 'Hebrides' (Feb 27-April 13), 'Loch Frisa' (March16-April 7) and 'Finlaggan' (April 20-May 8) planned overhauls.. However,. the 'Caledonian Isles' has returned to service this week, providing five returns per day between Ardrossan-Brodick. Works on the 'Glen Sannox' were virtually complete as well.

The 'Alfred', serving on the route Troon-Brodick, suffered a damaged lift, which needed to be repaired at the quay in Troon. On Jan 16, the ferry 'Isle of Arran' was inserted on the route, while repairs to the lift were being carried out, until Jan 22. If repairs were completed ahead of this date, the 'Isle of Arran' was to be redeployed. Customers requiring lift access were advised to book the 'Isle of Arran' sailings. On Jan 21, the lift was repaired and was back in operation withthe 3:50 p.m. sailing from Brodick.

The 'Alfred', serving on the route Troon-Brodick, got its propulsion fouled by a rope which had got caught in the propeller on the morning of Jan 12, 2026. The ship was sidelined in Troon, where divers attended the vessel and successfully removed the rope. The service was expected to resume with the 10:00 a.m. sailing from Troon.

CalMac has extended the charter of the 'Alfred' to the end of the year. The ferry will provide additional support within the Clyde and Hebrides network until Dec 31. CalMac was due to return the vessel to Pentland Ferries in May, when there were expectations the 'Caledonian Isles' would be finally repaired. But the Caley Isles failed to appear this summer and the 'Alfred'’s stay was continued to October. Delays with the handover of the 'Isle of Islay' also forced CalMac’s hand in continuing the hire especially as the ship she is effectively replacing, 'Hebridean Isles', was removed from the fleet in 2024. Potential drydock delays preventing ferries from returning to service following annual overhaul was another influencing factor. CalMac and the Scottish Government are due to officiallyed confirm the charter extension on Sep 8. Instead of heading back to her own Orkney route on the Pentland Firth at the end of CalMac’s summer timetable, the 'Alfred' will cover west coast routes during the first half of the winter drydock period. The Scottish Government wass expected to provide over £2.2 million pounds to CalMac towards the 'Alfred'’s charter extension.

The 'Alfred', serving on the route Troon-Brodick, suffered an issue with the bow thruster that required the attendance of divers on Aug 28. As a consequence, the following sailings have been cancelled: Departure Troon - 1:35 p.m. Departure Brodick - 3:45 p.m. All other sailings were unaffected. The 'Alfred' is serving the route along with the ferry 'Glen Sannox' due to ongoing investigations of the 'Caledonian Isles', which caused that there is no scheduled service to Arran and between Ardrossan and Brodick.

A passenger has been rescued after falling overboard from the 'Alfred' on Aug 16 shortly after 1.35 p.m. in the Firth of Clyde on the Troon to Brodrick route. CalMac had informed passengers that the ferry’s arrival would be delayed due to an emergency incident. The passenger was picked up by a rescue boat which was deployed by the ferry crew. The 'Alfred' was rerouted back to Troon harbour after the rescue operation. The passenger, who was understood to be conscious, was passed to the Scottish Ambulance Service. Sailings of the 'Alfred' were delayed for the remainder of the day.

The ÄAlfred' was removed from service on July 6 for essential maintenance, and for this purpose the ship was sent to Ayr, where it berthed on July 7. The works were expected to take until July 25. The ferry 'Glen Sannox' will operate the route Troon-Brodick, and the 'Isle of Arran' will operate the Ardrossan-Brodick service during this period.

The 'Alfred', serving on the route Troon - Brodick, required to carry out sea trials after previous overhaul works on March 27. As a consequence, the scheduled departures from Troon at 1.35 p.m. and from Brodick at 3.45 p.m. had to be cancelled. The service was resumed with the sailing from Troon at 6 p.m.

On Feb 19, the 'Alfred', sailing on the route Troon - Brodick, suffered a technical issue which at required the attendance of contractors at the quay in Troon. As a consequence, the scheduled departures from Troon at 09:15 a.m., 1.:35 p.m. and 6 p.m. and on Feb 20 at 09:15 a.m. and from Brodick at 7:30 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. as well as on Feb 20 at 07:30 a.m. and at 11:25 a.m. have been cancelled, and affected customers were contacted. The technical issue was resolved on Feb 20, but due to adverse weather, the departure at 1:35 p.m. from Troon was delayed until 2:00 p.m., which meant a knock-on delay to the 3:45 p.m. sailing departing Brodick. The service remained liable to weather disruption.

The 'Alfred', sailing on the route Troon-Brodick, suffered a technical issue affecting the sewage system on Jan 28, 2025. The issue has impacted the crew's compensatory rest. As a consequence, the scheduled departures from Brodick at 3:45 p.m. and from Troon at 6:00 p.m. had to be cancelled.