Ministers have been accused of failing Scotland’s island communities after fewer than half of CalMac’s lifeline ferry routes were operating a normal service.
Only 13 of the carrier’s 29 ferry routes were operating a normal service yesterday. Three routes were cancelled, five faced disruptions to service and a further eight routes were liable to disruption with the operator’s effort to overhaul its ageing fleet resulting in ferry services being provided by smaller vessels than usual.
One disrupted route is the Oban-to-Colonsay service, which is usually serviced by the MV Hebrides, which carries 612 passengers and 90 cars. Its annual overhaul has been extended and the vessel was replaced by the smaller MV Lord of the Isles, which carries 505 passengers and 56 cars.
The eight routes liable to disruption also include Mallaig to Armadale, which as a result of an annual overhaul will have 30 sailings cancelled this week.
CalMac, which runs most of the publicly subsidised ferry routes in Scotland, overhauls its ferries every year as part of its maintenance programme; vessels within the network replace those that are being serviced. The publicly owned operator’s fleet has been beset by mechanical problems, with Western Isles council leaders warning that a lack of resilience has affected the delivery of essential goods to island communities.
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Last month it emerged that two CalMac ferries being built at Ferguson Marine, a nationalised shipyard, would be further delayed because almost 1,000 electrical cables on the Glen Sannox, commissioned for the Arran service, may have to be ripped out and replaced.
The error has caused Ferguson Marine to push back the delivery of the second ferry, Hull 802, which was due between April and July next year for Skye and the Outer Hebrides.
The ferries are already four years late and heavily over budget, costing more than double the £97 million contract price. Joe Reade, chairman of the Mull and Iona ferry committee, said that CalMac’s reduced service was a “failure of strategy and management”.
“There has been a complete failure to stick to the replacement plans that the government have had in place for a long time,” he said in reference to the Ferries Plan for 2013-22, which was published in 2012. “There’s a failure of strategy in that the network is reliant on a small number of large vessels.”
Graham Simpson, the shadow transport secretary, said: “It’s a betrayal of our proud shipbuilding heritage that, under the SNP, nationalised Ferguson Marine can’t construct viable CalMac vessels on time and on budget.”
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CalMac said: “Our services are completely stretched and unfortunately, we do not have any spare vessels we can use.”
Transport Scotland said: “The minister for transport recently met CalMac to ensure the operator is exploring all possible options to improve services and to urge them to continue to work with Caledonian Maritime Assets to explore the possibility of sourcing additional tonnage.
“Ministers recognise that having confidence in ferry services can impact upon people’s decision on whether to live and work on the islands. Ministers also fully recognise the need to address delays in investment in ferry infrastructure which is why they have committed to the £580 million in the nfrastructure Investment Plan.”
