In south-west Scotland, a popular island hotel has announced a new policy for visitors affected by ferry disruptions on the Firth of Clyde amid warnings of a "Summer of more chaos".

The four-star Auchrannie Resort on the Isle of Arran, has said guests will be offered an extra night's stay free of charge if they are unable to leave the island due to a ferry cancellation.

Ferry services to the largest island on the Clyde are operated by Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac).

Each year, the Isle of Arran, often referred as the ‘Scotland in Miniature', is connected by 750,000 ferry crossings on the Clyde based on three routes: Ardrossan/Troon – Brodick (Arran) and Claonaig-Lochranza, located in the north of the island.

The Auchrannie Resort, located more than one mile of Brodick, has said the new Book with Confidence policy would apply to all new and existing bookings.

The Herald Scotland has more on the story. 

Currently, the largest ferry that normally operates the year-round Ardrossan-Brodick route, as Afloat previously reported, the MV Caledonian Isles, is out of service undergoing significant steel-work repairs at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, on Merseyside.

With the larger ferry unavailable on the main route, CalMac has reviewed its deployment plans for the summer period. This sees the route’s high-season ferry, MV Isle of Arran, continue to operate the 55 minute route which is to have newbuild replacements. The first of which, MV Glen Sannox is considerably delayed as it was to have entered service in 2018, but is not expected to make its debut until October.

In the meantime, the chartered-in catamaran Alfred, also operates but using Troon, while the shorter Claonaig-Lochranza link is served by the MV Catriona.

At a Scottish shioyard is where a massively delayed new Isle of Arran ferry has taken a huge stride towards completion.

The MV Glen Sannox, reports the Herald, is the first of two dual fuel vessels being built at Ferguson Marine Ltd., is currently four years behind schedule, being at the heart of the £230 million ferries fiasco.

Now the boat has been moved to dry dock in Greenock to undergo remedial works including replacement of the bulbous bow, paint repair and removal of marine growth from the vessel hull.

The ferry has been sitting in the water at Ferguson Marine's Port Glasgow facility since 2017.

Work had been called off due to coronavirus, but crews began returning in June. It is not yet clear how much of a delay the pandemic has had on the Glen Sannox or the as-yet unamed second vessel - Hull 802.

For more on this development click here.

On the Isle of Arran in Scotland, business owners have vented their fury over the loss of revenue and disruption to trade they say has been caused by the increasing unreliability of the island’s lifeline ferry service.

Islanders have told The Herald that a project which repositioned the harbour at Brodick, part of a £31 million investment to accommodate a new ferry for the Arran to Ardrossan route, has led to a spike in cancellations.

For more on this story on the Firth of Clyde route in south-west Scotland click here.

A second route albeit seasonal is based out of Ardrossan to Campbeltown on the Mull of Kintyre which Afloat featured in recent years.