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The MV Hebrides arrived at James Watt Wharf in Greenock on Friday morning and maintenance began repairing the damage suffered when the ship hit the Lochmaddy pier in North Uist last week.
In a statement, CalMac said a team of specialists is examining and preparing to cut the broken sections and until this is completed, it will not be possible to offload an estimated time to return to service.
“They are running 24 hours a day in maintenance and we expect to have a final touch estimate by Monday,” the company said.
“Our groups strive for passengers to complete their adventure and ensure that essential materials continue to be successful on the islands. “
The incident left the Uists without a single CalMac ferry to the mainland, after the MV Lord of the Isles went out of service on Tuesday for critical maintenance of its firefighting system.
The Western Isles Council has noted an urgent call to the Scottish government to charter the catamaran MV Pentalina.
CalMac redistributed the MV Hebridean Isles to provide navigation between Oban/Lochboisdale in Frida, before relocating to Lochmaddy to take service to Uig (Saturday morning).
MV Hebridean Isles now operates a Lochmaddy – Uig service only due to capacity and deadweight limitations. Tarbert traffic is diverted from Stornoway to Ullapool.
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