IT seems that the ferry on one of CalMac’s busiest routes will be out of action until mid-June after it was damaged by large vehicles. The ramp hinges on MV Loch Shira – which operates on the Largs to Cumbrae route – will need to be replaced.
Ferry users have been advised new parts must be manufactured in Poland. The ferry will then require up to three weeks in dry dock, meaning it could be mid June before it can return to service. Loch Shira entered service in 2007 after being built at Ferguson shipyard.
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Another CalMac ferry, the much larger Caledonian Isles which serves the Arran route, is also currently out of action until June for repairs.
What does it say about the deindustrialisation of Scotland that we have to subcontract the manufacture of some hinges to Poland and that once manufactured it will require three weeks for them to be installed?
Brian Lawson
Paisley
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