Islands 'must be compensated' as ferry network 'collapses'
Breakdowns, repairs and bad weather push CalMac to ‘collapse’ this weekend, island leaders have claimed.
Emergency compensation must be paid to island communities struggling under the “collapse” of the ferry network, island leaders have warned, as CalMac last night admitted the critical situation facing its fleet had “worsened” over the weekend.
On the first weekend of the summer timetable, the costs of cancelled ferry services are already being counted on the islands as the "unprecedented" level of breakdowns and repairs reported during the week further deteriorated yesterday.
Eight vessels remain out of action as the busy Easter period approaches, with CalMac and the communities it serves dealt a fresh blow yesterday when the flagship MV Lord of the Isles was pulled from service given engine trouble. The timeline for repairs is currently “unknown”. Poor sailing conditions added further pressure on sailings yesterday.
Arran, Barra, Harris, Islay, North Uist and South Uist are impacted by cancellations with Coll, Tiree and Colonsay completely cut off given the latest breakdown.
Mull - which had already been left without sailings over recent days - has been further impacted by the latest ferry loss.
There was no ferry service at all between Oban and Craignure yesterday morning, with a single-vessel service from the Coruisk sailing in the afternoon.
Serious disruption is due to continue across the network into next week, at least, with CalMac last night “urgently” planning to redeploy vessels to re-connect communities on the worst-hit routes. Four of the eight ferries are on scheduled maintenance.
Joe Reade, chair, Mull and Iona Ferry Committee said the ferry network had now “collapsed”, with no suitable ferries left to service some of the islands.
He said: “This is the first weekend of the summer timetable and the system has collapsed - they haven’t even got enough vessels to put on some sort of service to all the islands.
“There has been no formal approach for the need for compensation as yet, but I am sure that will come. “
Last year, the Scottish Government opened a £4.4 m Island Business Resilience Fund to compensate tourism-related businesses which had suffered due to loss of ferry service.
Mr Reade said it was a “scandal” that the ferry crisis was repeating itself this year.
He added: “If we have as bad a season as last year then, for sure, all businesses will be arguing for a repeat of the fund. But that is sticking plaster. The whole system is failing and it is a structural, strategic failure.”
One major tourism business on Mull wrote to Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop earlier this month with concerns about the state of the service ahead of the new tourist season, it is understood.
No decision on compensation for islanders will be made until the new government is formed after the Holyrood election.
Mr Reade added: “The big issue for us is how we got here. It is utter mismanagement and no one is being held responsible. Transport ministers change, each one can absolve themselves. CalMac are victims of mismanagement by Transport Scotland, the government and CMal (the government’s ferry-buying arm).
“We have been in this state of crisis for about five years now and everyone is just completely exasperated. It is a joke. It is what everyone talks about. You either talk about the weather or you talk about the ferries.”
The order of 13 new vessels for the CalMac fleet had been designed to improve reliability. Among them is the MV Glen Sannox, which is just a year old, but now out of service on the Arran route (Troon to Brodick) until at least Tuesday due to exhaust issues.
An update on the MV Isle of Islay, which arrived from its Turkish shipyard last month, is due on Sunday afternoon after it missed its planned passenger debut on Friday due to a failure in its power management system.The Caledonian Isles returned to service on the Ardrossan to Brodick route on Thursday following repairs, but the loss of the Lord of the Isles leaves eight major vessels off the water.
CalMac CEO Duncan Mackison said: “The critical situation we find ourselves in has worsened due to MV Lord of the Isles reporting an engine issue today. The timeline for her to be fixed is unknown and she is unlikely to be able to transit to a repair berth until Monday.
“A combination of weather, sea swell and technical issues means services are below planned levels on Arran, Barra, Coll, Colonsay, Harris, Islay, North Uist, South Uist and Tiree. As well as trying to manage disruption over the weekend, we’re urgently looking at deployment plans into next week to put services in place on islands facing disruption or cancellation due to vessel availability.”
CalMac said there are no suitable vessels available to charter to support the network.
Mr Mackison added: “Disruption will certainly continue into next week but we’re working hard to permanently address the issue with MV Glen Sannox’s exhaust and to rectify the outstanding issues on MV Isle of Islay to get both vessels in service as soon as possible.”
First Minister John Swinney said on Wednesday that “every effort” was being made to ensure that the CalMac Ferries network” can meet the needs of all island communities”.
“Refits are on-going for vessels that are going through their contracted annual maintenance, but there will be active dialogue to ensure that ferry communities have the services and support that they require,” he added.
Scottish Conservative transport spokeswoman Sue Webber said: “Just when you think the SNP's ferries fiasco couldn’t get any worse, it does.
“Our island ferry network is now in total paralysis because Nationalist incompetence has left islanders with an ageing and unreliable fleet.
“To have eight vessels out of action would be catastrophic at any time, but just before the Easter holidays it's even more devastating.”
“It defies belief that no SNP minister has been sacked for their role in this scandal.”
Scottish Labour Transport spokesperson Daniel Johnson said “The SNP’s shambolic ferry fiasco continues with a staggering eight CalMac ferries now out of use.
“John Swinney and the SNP created this mess and they have no idea how to fix it.”
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