CALMAC has announced its Campbeltown-Ardrossan service is to be cancelled for the entire summer.
It is a summer-only service and was also scrapped last year when the MV Hebridean Isles was out of service.
The operator has now confirmed new vessel deployment plans while a major ship remains out of action.
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It revealed last month that MV Caledonian Isles, the main ship on the Arran route, would not be back in service until June at the earliest.
Services to Arran will be maintained using a chartered catamaran sailing from Troon, and MV Isle of Arran operating out of Ardrossan.
CalMac has said it hoped the Arran plans would be able to meet capacity but warned some customers might not be able to book at their preferred sailing time during busier periods.
It will run a bus service to and from Troon for passengers using the catamaran MV Alfred, which is no longer able to operate from Ardrossan since the port’s Irish Berth had to close due to safety reasons.
MV Alfred will return to Troon from March 12.
The need for extended repairs to the steelwork on MV Caledonian Isles – which involves removing its engines – has also had a knock-on effect on other west coast ferry routes.
Islay meanwhile will be served by MV Finlaggan and MV Hebridean Isles, with MV Lord of the Isles providing cover for Finlaggan when it undergoes its annual maintenance after Easter.
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Another option is also being investigated to improve capacity. Subject to berthing trials, MV Isle of Lewis could be redeployed to the Little Minch routes, freeing up MV Hebrides to be deployed to boost Arran services.
The ferry operator said that summer timetables were still being finalised and would be published shortly.
Chief executive of CalMac Robbie Drummond said: “The deployment plan we have chosen provides the best possible service to the network, though we recognise that there is going to be some disruption to some of the communities and customers we serve.
“Losing one of the larger vessels in our network during peak season has had a knock-on effect on the wider network, and unfortunately some disruption is unavoidable.”
Drummond added that the fleet was already “stretched to an absolute limit” prior to the news about MV Caledonian Isles.
Six new vessels and 10 smaller vessels are due to be delivered to the CalMac fleet over the next five years, but in the meantime he said, “we face a difficult period as we wait in anticipation for them”.
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