A small fire caused an engine failure on a west coast ferry and forced its crew to head for the nearest port, according to operator CalMac.

MV Lord of the Isles was on the Mallaig to Lochboisdale, South Uist, route on Tuesday, before it was diverted to Armadale on Skye.

CalMac said the small fire was extinguished quickly by the crew and no-one was hurt.

Sailings between Mallaig and Lochboisdale, have been cancelled for the rest of the week.

CalMac said it was investigating the failure which affected the main starboard engine.

Passengers were offered alternative travel arrangements.

Head of operations Finlay MacRae said: "This was a long night for our customers, and I apologise for the disruption caused to them.

"Their safety was our priority, and we made sure that everyone was spoken to individually so that our crew and port staff could make sure they had all the support they needed in terms of food, onward journeys, and accommodation."

A tug is to tow the ferry to a yard on the Clyde for repairs.

The fire comes against a backdrop of disruption to Calmac services.

Last week, MV Hebridean Isles was removed from service due to an issue with its bow thruster.

Islay's 38 year old ferry is to be retired later this year and replaced by new ferries.

Over the years it has required lengthy and costly repairs - including last year when it was out of action for 10 months.

Last week it also emerged the delivery of new ferry Glen Sannox had been further delayed.

The ship and another new vessel, Glen Rosa, were originally due for delivery in 2018 but have faced repeated design and construction challenges.

The bill for repairing and maintaining CalMac's ageing publicly-owned ferry fleet has almost trebled in the past five years, according to figures released last month.

A freedom of information request from the Scottish Liberal Democrats found the annual cost of fixing CalMac-run ferries in 2018-19 was about £15.5m.

Between 2022-23 the cost rose to £26.6m and by 2023-24 further increased to £41.2m.

The first of four new CalMac ferries being built by a shipyard in Turkey will be delivered late.

MV Isle of Islay had been expected to be handed over in mid October – but this has been put back to near the end of the year.

The Cemre shipyard blamed delays in delivery of equipment and materials, due to global supply chain difficulties.

The announcement comes at a difficult time for CalMac with two of its 10 major vessels currently out of action and a third due to be retired in November.

Another ferry, the much-delayed Glen Sannox, being built by the Ferguson shipyard, will not be handed over until late September and will require several weeks of crew familiarisation before it comes into service.

News of the problems with delivery of the Turkish ferry came in a letter to MSPs from Kevin Hobbs, external, chief executive of the government-owned ferries procurement company CMAL.

In the letter, Mr Hobbs said: "There have been major challenges the yard has had to overcome in the programme; the war in Ukraine affecting the supply of steel, the devastating earthquakes in south-eastern Turkey, which led to a serious loss of manpower in the shipyard, with many of the workers in the yard and subcontractors travelling to the region to assist in the rescue operations.

"I can report the quality of the workmanship and construction of the vessel is fully meeting requirements, with high levels of activity, supervision, engineering and co-ordination.

"The relationship between CMAL, CalMac and Cemre is strong and we are working together every day to achieve the ships that will serve Island communities for many years to come."

MV Isle of Islay - destined for the Islay route - is the first of the new Islay class vessels, with MV Loch Indaal due to follow next year and two other ships also on order.

They are slightly smaller than the two ships being built at Ferguson’s, with conventional engines and some battery power.

CalMac chief executive Duncan Mackison said: “Unfortunately, global supply chain issues are outwith every agency’s control and have caused a slight delay to what has otherwise been a faultless process.

"CalMac crew for the new vessel are on-site at the shipyard to support the final stages of the build, and we stand ready to take delivery of MV Isle of Islay as soon as she is ready.”

CalMac is continuing to face pressure maintaining its fleet, with many ships now beyond their expected service life.

The main Arran ferry Caledonian Isles has not been in service since February, and has been undergoing major steelwork repairs in Merseyside.

That work has now been completed, but new repairs are being done to a bulkhead that was damaged when a ballast tank was over pressurised.

The ship could be back in service by the end of August but this could now slip to September.

Another major vessel, Lord of the Isles, which serves South Uist, is out of action after an engine fire on Tuesday.

The ship is due to arrive in Greenock on Friday afternoon where an assessment of the damage will be carried out.

A third major vessel, the 38-year-old Hebridean Isles, is due to be scrapped in November because it would require expensive and lengthy work to keep it in service.

The delivery date for Glen Sannox, being built at Ferguson’s and due to serve the Arran route, has also been put back recently because of problems completing its LNG propulsion system, and will not be handed over until the end of September.