Sailings

Presently, reported Coronavirus blank sailings on the transpacific trade have reached 25, with carriers on the Asia-North America West Coast trade lane announcing 23 blank sailings.

Sailings are usually three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with additional sailings on Wednesdays during July and August.

And the impact of the bad weather is already being felt locally, with Caledonian MacBrayne cancelling the first four ferry sailings between Kilcreggan and Gourock, with a review due to take place at 10am.

A new timetable that includes Lochmaddy-Ullapool sailings means that Lochmaddy won’t be completely cut off from the mainland.

As of 8 a.m., Hullo was awaiting confirmation as to whether more sailings would be cancelled as the company monitors an alert by Environment Canada over gale force winds.

BC Ferries says it will continue to monitor the weather system, and that customers with bookings on cancelled sailings will be contacted and offered refunds or alternative travel options.

Colonsay is normally served by three sailings a week from Oban and one from Kennacraig, via Islay, on a Saturday.

For a flight-free option, some cruise lines have sailings that depart from Portsmouth or Southampton for a Caribbean islands tour, including a stop in Barbados.

French shipping line CMA CGM is working plans to gradually increase the number of sailings through the Red Sea, however the timing and scope of its plans remains highly uncertain.

In 2023, there have been significant fluctuations in blank sailings across major shipping routes, reflecting the dynamic global shipping industry influenced by factors such as market conditions, disruptions, and demand patterns.

It's enabled the purchase of full on-board facilities for all sailings to Ben-my-Chree capacity limits up to 31 August.

Last summer it hired 850 new staff and there were still 300 cancelled sailings due to crew shortages.

Sailings leaving from Stornoway at 7am and 2pm have been cancelled as well the 10.30am service departing from Ullapool.

The 10am sailing from Kennacraig to Port Ellen (Islay) has been diverted to Port Askaig, meaning that the 5pm Port Ellen-Kennacraig sailings will now leave from Port Askaig instead.

The fragile nature of Jersey’s food security was underlined last autumn, when a prolonged period of high winds and rough seas disrupted Condor’s conventional sailings – affecting retailers across the Island.

A CalMac spokesperson said: "Due to the deterioration in weather conditions, sailings will be suspended after the 10.15am from Largs and the 10.30am sailing from Cumbrae.

A mechanical problem with BC Ferries’ Queen of Surrey vessel meant at least three morning sailings were cancelled on Friday.

Among the offerings are three timed sailings to coincide with the August solar eclipse, with Bolette and Balmoral heading for Iceland and Borealis going to Spain.

CalMac have cancelled sailings between Ardrossan and Brodick due to poor weather conditions today - but are hopeful that services will resume this evening.

Celebrity Apex will offer a mixture of four-to-13-night sailings between May and November 2024.