The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company’s Ben-my-Chree has returned home after unsuccessful trials at Scottish ports.

The vessel, primarily used as a backup to the Manxman, had been undergoing berthing trials with Scottish ferry operator CalMac to assess its suitability for service on the Arran route.

She arrived back to Douglas in the early hours of Friday morning.

However, CalMac confirmed that the trials at the ports of Troon and Brodick proved unsatisfactory.

Earlier this week, the Ben-my-Chree completed berthing trials at the new ferry terminal in Liverpool before heading to Scotland.

During trials in Troon and Brodick on Thursday, while the vessel managed to berth at Brodick, it was reportedly at the edge of its operational safety limits.

CalMac stated that it would require ‘completely benign conditions’ for the ferry to berth reliably, leading to the decision not to proceed with chartering the Ben-my-Chree for the Arran route.

The Isle of Arran Ferry Committee, which is a consultative body made up of representatives from the community and business on Arran, released a statement on Thursday evening explaining the outcome.

It read: ‘This morning, we carried out berthing trials at Troon and Brodick with MV Ben-My-Chree.

‘Though we are awaiting the full report on those trials, we are keen to keep communities updated as quickly as possible.

‘That’s why I’m getting in touch to confirm the trials were unsuccessful.

‘Whilst the vessel berthed successfully at Brodick, we were at the very edge of the limits it was safe to operate to, and we’d be relying on completely benign conditions to berth.

‘The vessel will head back to the Isle of Man.

‘We will continue to explore any and all options to add resilience and capacity to the fleet.

‘That includes looking for third-party charters, as we always do, though it is a very challenging market.

‘The intention behind looking at MV Ben-My-Chree was to add resilience to the fleet, and were the trials successful we would have had the ability to redeploy the fleet and add capacity to both the Arran service and other parts of the network.

‘However, there is no immediate negative impact on the network because of these trials not working out.

‘The current deployment plan, which is in place until Friday, November 15, remains unchanged.’

The Steam Packet’s agreement with the Manx government requires that a back-up vessel be available to support services during peak periods, such as the TT, the Festival of Motorcycling, and the Christmas season.

The agreement also allows for the vessel to be chartered out, provided it can return within 96 hours if needed for service on the Isle of Man routes.

The Ben-My-Chree’s trials came amid challenges for CalMac, whose fleet has been under strain since the MV Caledonian Isles, the main ferry for Arran, went out of service in February. It is not expected back until mid-November.

CalMac has also chartered a catamaran, the Alfred, to maintain services on the Arran route at a significant monthly cost, estimated by BBC Scotland to be £1 million.

Meanwhile, the long-awaited Glen Sannox, under construction at the Ferguson shipyard on the Clyde, was initially scheduled for handover two weeks ago but is now not expected to enter service until January.