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12 August 2025
To provide you with certainty for your travel plans with us to/from Colonsay for the period to 12 October 2025, we’ve shared the very latest details on how the service will operate during this time while we accommodate deployment needs elsewhere on the network.
From 8 September – 12 October, MV Clansman will provide services on all days, except for some Wednesdays and some Saturdays. A passenger charter service will operate on certain days. Full details are available on the service status page of our website.
We will provide further details on our plans for the final week of the summer timetable and then the winter deployment at a later date.
If you have a booking that’s affected by the information above, don’t worry – we will be in contact with you shortly. We’re contacting customers who have a booking for dates / services affected in date order of sailing.
While we work on existing customer bookings, the booking system on our website may show that some sailings are unavailable. This is temporary and means that our team is making changes to existing bookings. Please do check back later.
Our service status page for each route will be kept up to date on progress on booking amendments and when sailings are open online for new reservations or amends – and as always will provide the latest information on the service.
Throughout these changes to deployment plans, our focus is always on limiting any effect on you, our customer. We do appreciate your understanding of the bigger picture and your patience while we manage this.
We are entering a period where some essential maintenance will be required on some of our vessels, which coincides on another major vessel- MV Caledonian Isles remaining unavailable for services as she continues to undertake sea trials to identify further repair requirements. This has meant we need to make some vessel deployment changes to support services. To provide you with certainty for your travel plans to/from Colonsay, we’ve shared these details below.
Colonsay services
The services to/from Colonsay is cancelled on 9 July and 10 July, with MV Clansman supporting Tiree Music Festival on those days and MV Lord of the Isles undergoing essential maintenance on 9 July.
Full details are available on the service status pages for the route.
If you are a customer with a booking
From Wednesday 2 July, we will be in contact with customers who have a booking for this period (9 and 10 July) which is affected. We'll do this in date order of sailings.
Our service status for the route will be kept up to date on progress on booking amendments – and as always will provide the latest information on the service.
If you are a customer who is planning to make a reservation / amendment
While this work is underway, our booking system on our website may show that some sailings are unavailable. This is temporary. Please do check back later.
Stay up to date
As always, to stay up to date with the latest information on the service status of each route, please continue to check our service status pages for the route, download our app, check the X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and sign up for SMS text subscription services.
Thank you
Elsewhere on the network we are dealing with a unique set of circumstances. As we mentioned above, MV Lord of the Isles must undertake repairs which cannot be delayed further and another major vessel – MV Caledonian Isles continues to undergo sea trials to determine requirements for further repair and investigation. MV Alfred currently on the Clyde, serving Arran will also undertake maintenance in July. Our deployment plans are designed to limit any effect on you, wherever we possibly can. We always appreciate your understanding of the bigger picture and your continued patience with this change for the Colonsay service.
Until 26 April
Due to a further delay in MV Hebrides returning from her annual overhaul programme the vessel will not return to service on Tuesday 22 April, as originally planned and is expected to return on Saturday 26 April. For the latest information on this delay and any impact to this route up to 26 April, please view the routes Opens in new windowservice status page.
We want to let you know that the return to service of MV Hebrides has been delayed until Tuesday 22 April. She is currently in overhaul and receiving additional repairs to her bow visor and stern ramp, which have been extended due to their complexity. We’ve shared below how we will support services to/from Coll and Tiree.
Colonsay services
This means the current deployment plan will remain in place for longer. MV Lord of the Isles will continue to cover Colonsay, Coll and Tiree services whilst MV Clansman covers MV Hebrides.
Customer bookings
If you have a booking that’s affected, our team will be in touch with you from Friday 4 April in sailing date order.
If have yet to make a reservation on the route or would like to make an amendment - our booking system is being updated, and while this work is underway it may seem like some sailings and amendments for the period Wednesday 16 April to Monday 21 April are unavailable. This is temporary. Please do check back.
The service status page for the route will provide confirmation when all affected bookings have been changed updated.
Stay up to date
As always, to stay up to date with the latest information on the service status of each route, please continue to check our service status and information page for these routes, check the X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and sign up for SMS text subscription services.
Thank you
We appreciate your continued support and patience with the unforeseen extensions that can often take place when additional repairs are identified. It remains a unique set of circumstances, and our focus is on maintaining core services to all island communities.
We want to keep our customers updated on the annual overhaul programme and how we are deploying vessels and managing services across the network.
MV Hebrides overhaul
The need for additional repairs has been identified during MV Hebrides annual overhaul. The issue relates to her bow visor, stern ramp and car deck - and a repair plan has been quickly put in place.
This means that she will be delayed in dry dock and is now expected to return to service on 16 April 2025, rather than 06 April 2025.
Colonsay services
MV Lord of the Isles will continue to cover for MV Clansman, meaning services will operate to summer timetable albeit with slightly reduced capacity than normal.
Customer bookings
If you have a booking that’s affected, our team will be in touch with you.
If have yet to make a reservation on the route or would like to make an amendment - our booking system is being updated, and while this work is underway it may seem like some sailings and amendments for the period 8 April – 16 April are unavailable. This is temporary. Please do check back.
Stay up to date
As always, to stay up to date with the latest information on the service status of each route, please continue to check our service status and information page for these routes, check the X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and sign up for SMS text subscription services.
Thank you
We appreciate the patience shown by our customers and stakeholders during the annual overhaul programme and the unforeseen extensions that can often take place when additional repairs are identified. As always, our focus is on maintaining core services to all island communities.
*Customer bookings – Our booking system has been updated to reflect the changes in the below update (26 February). All impacted customers have been contacted, and bookings are now open for new bookings and amendments.
We want to let our customers know about changes to our services from February through to mid-May. While we move through the busy winter overhaul period, several challenging issues have emerged across the fleet in recent days – and we have had to review our vessel deployment and service plans.
The service to/from Colonsay will be delivered by MV Lord of the Isles for longer than expected. It’s anticipated MV Clansman will return to the route from 8 April 2025.
Work is underway to update our booking system and timetables with these changes.
Current bookings and those made prior to the system being updated are subject to change and may be moved to a different vessel or sailing time. However, if your reservation is affected, we’ll be in contact with you as soon as we can, to let you know.
When work is taking place to update the booking system, amendments and new bookings for some sailings will be unavailable. This is temporary and will take place in phases, so please do check back later.
MV Clansman – the vessel’s overhaul has been delayed by a few days. Following completion, she will relieve MV Hebrides’ annual maintenance period before returning to services on Colonsay from 8 April.
As is always the case, dates and details shared can change. If you are travelling on our services, please always check our service status information here on our website, or on the app for the very latest information on services to/from Colonsay.
Finally, thank you for your understanding as we manage our way through this exceptional set of circumstances where challenges with several vessels in the fleet have converged at the same time, affecting their availability for service and capacity. Despite these major challenges, our focus remains on ensuring core services to all island communities.
A two-vessel service will remain in operation on the Oban-Craignure, Mull service until at least 17 February 2025. MV Isle of Arran, which is currently deployed to support MV Loch Frisa will remain in the area until this time.
MV Isle of Arran will also deliver sailings to/from Colonsay on 10 February and 17 February in addition to 27 January and 3 February, as mentioned below. As always, to stay up to date with the latest information on the service status of each route, please continue to check our service status pages and app for these routes, check the X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and sign up for SMS text subscription services.
MV Isle of Arran will be redeployed to support services to/from Oban-Craignure (Mull) from Thursday 16 January, meaning that a two-vessel service will be in operation. MV Isle of Arran will operate on the Oban-Craignure route from 16 January until 9 February inclusive, alongside MV Loch Frisa.
This means that MV Isle of Arran will also cover Colonsay services on 20 January, 27 January and 3 February and services between Oban-Coll-Tiree will also be reinstated on those dates.
As always, to stay up to date with the latest information on the service status of each route, please continue to check our service status pages and app for these routes, check the X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and sign up for SMS text subscription services.
Following the news that MV Caledonian Isles, which previously operated services between Ardrossan-Brodick, requires further repairs, we have planned for the vessel being unavailable for the duration for the winter timetable period.
Below, we have shared details of our updated vessel redeployment plans from 16 November through to the end of the winter timetable period on 27 March 2025. Services to/from Colonsay remain largely unchanged. However, sailings on some Mondays between February and March are at high risk of cancellation due to vessel availability, but this will remain under review and be confirmed in January. We will do our best to provide these sailings. Please as always, check our service status and information pages for the very latest details.
If you have a reservation in the system that is affected by any later changes, we will be in contact with you in date order of sailings.
As always, to stay up to date with the latest information on the service status of each route, please continue to check our service status and information page for these routes, check the X (formerly Twitter) feed - @CalMac_Updates, and sign up for SMS text subscription services.
Again, we apologise for the inconvenience caused by having one of the large vessels on the fleet out of service for this period. The revised plans outlined above takes on board the feedback from customers and communities on how we manage this situation - and reflects our commitment to meeting demand and maintaining a lifeline service across the network.