Alastair Dalton Onboard CalMac's Caledonian Isles Ferry

The Scotsman

The Scotsman's Transport Correspondent, Alastair Dalton onboard the troubled Caledonian Isles ferry.   Alastair speaks to Craig Ramsay, Fleet Management Director at CalMac Ferries Limited about the ongoing repairs and the return of the ferry to service.

Transcript

00:00I'm Alistair Dalton, the Scotsman's Transport Correspondent at the Dales Marine Yard in

00:28Greenock beside CalMac's biggest Clyde Ferry, the Caledonian Isles, which has been out of

00:34service since January for major steelwork repairs.

00:39Now the 31-year-old ferry should have been back in service more than two months ago,

00:45but within hours of it due to return to CalMac's busiest route to Arran, significant further

00:52repairs were found to be needed to do with steelwork that has been bent out of shape

00:58and needs replacing.

01:01We've gone on board to speak to the people in charge of this further major repair that

01:07could either take, at best, until December, but could keep this ferry out of service until

01:14March.

01:15So the vessel's been out of service since January of this year.

01:19It was due in for a planned overhaul period of two to three weeks, which has been extended

01:28multiple times following the discovery and work to resolve some significant structural

01:35steelwork issues found in the double bottom area of the vessel, which is a sort of honeycomb

01:41structure making up the backbone of the vessel.

01:44So the vessel completed repairs back in August, transited from the Mersey to the Clyde, including

01:50trials and tests on route, was very close to restarting passenger service within 12

01:56to 14 hours.

01:57The vessel was at Ardrossan ready to start the next morning.

02:00Some proactive engineering the evening before uncovered signs of a significant issue in

02:06one of the vessel's gearboxes, which necessitated further investigation.

02:12The vessel was removed from the plan for reinstatements, and where we've got to since

02:16then is that issue we're now finding looks to be a symptom of a wider issue around structural

02:25deformation in the aft part of the vessel.

02:29This manifests itself both in the gearbox issue but also in issues with stern tube bearings.

02:35That's the point at which the main propeller shaft exits the hull towards the propeller

02:39in the aft part of the vessel.

02:41We're talking about really fine tolerances here, so fine tolerances within a finely engineered

02:46gearbox and a finely engineered stern tube bearing at the other end.

02:52What we suspect is that structural deformation in the middle of that arrangement, so the

02:56aft part of the vessel, and it's probably a bit like taking a shoebox and twisting it

03:02and seeing that the alignment of each end of that shoebox is now no longer plumb or

03:08square.

03:10What I would add is that prior to departure from the Mersey, following the long period

03:14of repairs, the correct and the proper alignment works were done under our supervision and

03:20the supervision of the equipment manufacturer to the satisfaction of all parties.

03:26It looks like the source of the deformation and the deformation itself appears to have

03:30been sustained or at least worsened between that departure and the gearbox issue in our

03:39draw soon that served as the first proper symptom.

03:43We've clearly got a lot of work to do in diagnosing what the root of this is.

03:48We're seeing the symptoms, we're battling the results of those symptoms and the need

03:54to ultimately resolve our gearbox issues and stern tube issues.

03:59We're now well into the repairs themselves of the steel structure, but what's absolutely

04:05crucial here is that we understand the source of this deformation.

04:09The source of the stresses that led to this deformation so that when the vessel does go

04:13back into service, we can have absolute confidence for our customers that she's going to achieve

04:19a satisfactory level of resilience.

04:22It's a dynamic picture at the moment to say the least.

04:25We have a number of moving parts from spares availability through to service support availability

04:33through to dry dock availability.

04:36Our ship repair colleagues and support here at Dales have been accommodating in the past.

04:42We're currently working with them closely to understand what dock availability looks

04:47like for the short to medium term, but the long and the short of it is possibly within

04:53the next six to eight weeks and worst case as publicised, possibly the duration of the

05:00winter timetable period.

05:02We are of course working to worst case.

05:05Recent experience with this vessel and with other vessels tells us that these issues are

05:09often never as straightforward, not as straightforward as they first appear to be and can grow in

05:16scope.

05:17So it's probably sensible in practical, technical terms to plan for the worst, but at the same

05:21time put our resources into accelerating that timeframe as soon as we possibly can.

05:28It is a very dynamic situation.

05:30We are progressing the things we can progress today to the fullest possible degree, but

05:35the biggest unknown is the root cause of what we're dealing with.

05:39We can't fully identify the full scope of work until we understand that.

05:44We don't have all the information.

05:45We don't fully understand as yet the root cause of the deformation that we're seeing.

05:54What I mean by that, we've had this vessel out of the water for the last 11 months and

05:59I am fairly confident that at least indirectly, if not directly, that is a strong link to

06:08the issues that we're seeing.

06:10We are committed to learning from this.

06:13This is a new situation for all of us.

06:18This is new ground for all of the technical expertise, both internally and externally

06:23to some degree as well.

06:25We will know more about this vessel and vessels of this vintage in general when we get to

06:32the end of it and how that might or may not relate to the rest of our fleet.

06:36Arran Islanders are really depending on an end to this and an improvement to the service.

06:43They absolutely are and understandably so.

06:48We feel there, we feel and hear their frustration acutely.

06:52We are doing everything we possibly can.

06:55We're standing here on board today.

06:58You've seen the work going on.

06:59You've seen the repair work, the stuff we can get on with, being gotten on with.

07:03We are working around the clock to do those things in preparation for the other things

07:08becoming clearer to set ourselves up for returning this vessel to service as soon as we possibly

07:14can.

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