Corran Ferry Update – 23 May

Maid of Glencoul vessel that serves the Corran Narrows in Lochaber
Maid of Glencoul vessel that serves the Corran Narrows in Lochaber

Malcolm MacLeod, Highland Council’s Depute Chief Executive visited the headquarters of WARTSILA in Glasgow on 19 May 2023 to receive a detailed update on the status of repairs to the MV Corran.

Both vessels, which provide ferry passage across the Corran Narrows in Lochaber, are currently out of operation due to mechanical issues, however the Maid of Glencoul remains on course for a return to service at the beginning of June.

During his recent visit to Glasgow Mr MacLeod was accompanied by the Council’s Richard Porteous, who manages the ferry operations, Allan McGowan, Corran ferry foreperson and Laurence Kenny, Head of Ferries Policy at Transport Scotland.

The Glasgow base is where the parts are being assembled to repair the damage found with the propulsion unit of the MV Corran, which caused the outage of the vessel. 

Critical parts are still awaited from the supplier Voith, based in Germany.  Whilst the first shipment will be with WARTSILA by the end of this week (27 May), the damage to the Crown Gear has meant that a new one must be recast, and this is not expected until later in June.

The Council is making all efforts to expedite the delivery of this part, but there are supply chain challenges due to high levels of demand. 

Once all the parts are in place in Glasgow, the rebuild will commence, but it is clear that due to the supply chain challenges that are out with the control of the Council, the MV Corran will not be back in service until the end of June 2023 at the earliest.  In the meantime, the MV Corran will be towed to the dry dock on Bute, so that other maintenance activity can take place whilst the parts are delivered. 

The second vessel, Maid of Glencoul, suffered a failure of the drive shaft and is currently in dry dock at Bute.

The parts that failed have been re-manufactured and delivery is expected on 24 May 2023. Rebuild will take place over the course of the rest of this week, and it is hoped that this work, as well as other routine maintenance work (including replacement of the main windscreen) will be complete by 29 May 2023.

Following sea trials and re-certification, it is planned for the Maid of Glencoul to be back in Service by 5 June 2023.  Regular updates will be provided over the course of this period to ensure all stakeholders are kept abreast of progress.

23 May 2023