CalMac announces that Ardrossan incident has been stood down

The emergency incident taking place on a CalMac ferry in Ardrossan harbour tonight has been officially stood down by Police Scotland.

A person who was reported as being overboard from MV Caledonian Isles on passage from Brodick made a security threat to crew after they rescued them from the water.

Police were alerted to the threat, and crew immediately commenced a search of the vessel. Upon arrival at Ardrossan, all 329 passengers were disembarked via the gangway and taken to safety in a nearby car park. Police also cleared the port.

Once the search of the vessel was complete, police declared that the situation had been resolved. Passengers were then allowed back on board to recover their vehicles.

All remaining sailings this evening from Ardrossan have been cancelled to allow crew to be debriefed and for emergency equipment to be replenished.

CalMac CEO Duncan Mackison said: “This was a fast-moving situation that was handled professionally by our crew, Ardrossan port staff and emergency services and I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to them.”

Any affected customers who had bookings are being contacted by CalMac customer services.