CalMac’s balancing act on South Uist and Barra routes

CalMac’s balancing act on Uist and Barra routes

2 February 2023

A raft of last minute changes are being introduced on the relief ferry service for Lochboisdale and Castlebay after problems emerged elsewhere in the west coast network.

Stand-in vessel MV Isle of Mull has been asked to extend her temporary service for an indefinite time on a combined Barra and South Uist schedule.

But vehicles continuing to the final destination face having to drive off and back on again at her first port of call to ensure the vessel’s stability.

And sailing times have been amended forward for the next few days as the Lochboisdale berth is not available overnight to the MV Isle of Mull. MV Hebrides shifts from North Uist and will be using the pier to operating a one-off set of sailings between South Uist and Ullapool until Monday afternoon .

In addition, as a result of adverse weather leaving the Mull out of position in Lochboisdale, a 2am departure has been arranged for tomorrow (Friday) to provide Barra with an outbound service as they have not had one since Monday. The early sailing allows the vessel to be back in Castlebay for any Uist traffic to connect with the last Sound of Barra crossing of the day.

Rebalancing the weight over MV Isle of Mull’s car deck is required for safety reasons to avoid the vessel listing to one side while moving through the sea.

The switch-around will only occur on a maximum of five separate occasions a week it is anticipated.

However, affected vehicles must have a driver on hand to shift it - unaccompanied cars or trucks will not be transported on affected sailings said CalMac

In addition, passenger numbers on Monday will be heavily restricted because MV Isle of Mull is due to carry a consignment of dangerous goods from Oban. A similar limitation - previously indicated by CalMac as 30 people - will be applied on the Wednesday sailing out of Barra

The Isle of Mull was only due to provide a shared service for five days up to Monday before reverting to direct Barra-Oban sailings - but she will now stay on the route until the MV Lord of the Isles returns to South Uist.

CalMac has reshuffled its fleet as MV Caledonian Isles - which normally serves the island of Arran - requires extensive engine repairs in drydock which could take up to five weeks at current estimates.

Barra vessel, MV Isle of Lewis, left in recent days for her overhaul while MV Clansman is also in drydock. A fourth major vessel, the Hebrides Isles, is broken tonight.

CalMac has drawn up a timetable for Lochbosidale and Castlebay for the next fortnight

CalMac’s area manager said: “Following feedback from the Uist and Barra communities, combined with the need to ship essential supplies to both islands and provide adequate services to accommodate the February half term, further changes have been made to the Lochboisdale/Castlebay combined service.

“The combined timetable provides inbound and outbound services to both islands on the key days required for food supplies, heating fuels and shellfish exports.

“I am aware that this timetable is still far from meeting the requirements our communities would have if each island had their own vessel as per the original deployment plans, but unfortunately, this is not possible due to the overhaul issues highlighted at the end of last week.

“As the vessel will operate via Castlebay on certain days of the week, all traffic must be accompanied by a driver as the car deck will have to fully unload and reload in Castlebay before continuing on to it’s next port.

“This is due to the set up of the MV Isle of Mull where traffic is used to ballast the ship evenly.

“Unfortunately, if unaccompanied vehicles are presented, they will not be able to be shipped – this includes commercial traffic as well.”

Affected booking are being readjusted. CalMac asks impacted travellers to be “patient and polite when dealing with our frontline teams as they are working as hard as possible to make the service run as smoothly as they can.

“Any aggressive or rude behaviour will not be tolerated and may result in a refusal to travel in line with our conditions of carriage.”

CalMac said it fully appreciates “this is far from ideal at this time.”

Its area manger said: “I am very sorry for the issues this will cause to our communities and businesses. I can assure you we will do our best to ensure everyone is accommodated.”