CalMac pledges to “rebuild trust” after letting down island communities
21 December 2021
CalMac has pledged to “rebuild trust” with island communities angry at controversial blows to vital ferry services in the Western Isles.
The shipping company admits carrying out an unsatisfactory consultation for Harris and Uist.
Shortcomings made islanders feel “let down” concedes the firm.
The admission arrives hot on the heels of a furious backlash over a newly imposed deterioration in ferry services for Uist and Harris, particularly as struggling island tourism businesses were desperately hoping for a glimmer of recovery after two years of Covid restrictions.
Undesired changes will hit the local economy by “close to £9 million,” maintains local economic agency, Harris Development.
MV Hebrides can carry a maximum of 82 cars per sailing on the busy, popular services from Skye to Tarbert and Lochmaddy but that figure will be slashed by 22% -
Tourists prevented from travelling represents empty holiday cottages and B&Bs while the loss of visitor spending for cafes, shops, craft makers and people dependent on the summer economy will be a massive financial hit say critics.
CalMac said the mezzanine deck is not only cumbersome and slow to operate, but delays turnaround times with knock-
Hiring extra personnel is a straightforward solution but the Scottish Government refuses to provide the £816,000 cost, a figure challenged by Harris Development.
To make matters worse, the Harris -
Tarbert is set to lose its ferry for five months with travellers to be detoured north through adjoining Lewis for the Ullapool sea route. Doubts are expressed if the Stornoway ferry, MV Loch Seaforth, can adequately handle the extra traffic.
Kenny Macleod, chair of Harris Development is incensed at the “huge level of contempt” over CalMac and the Scottish Government’s decision to “put profits before the livelihoods and existence of our communities and businesses.”
He accuses both bodies of being remote in both distance and understanding from island communities.
“It is completely wrong for CalMac to bully the communities they serve with a reduction in service to make up this internal additional cost,” of the mezzanine deck operation he stressed.
“It is further extremely worrying and wrong that the Scottish Government are allowing them to proceed with this imposition.”
Robbie Drummond, CalMac’s managing director, said: “I recognise the strong feelings that this whole process has generated and regret that it has led to a position where anybody feels let down by CalMac.
“All of the staff at CalMac strive to provide the best service we can to all the communities we serve and it is very disappointing to us when we fail to live up to the high standards we set ourselves.
“I want to ensure that we rebuild that trust and am committed to meeting with local representatives as soon in 2022 as circumstances allow.”
He highlighted: “We fully recognise that the route consultation process which we ran on behalf of Transport Scotland took too long and was deeply frustrating for all parties.
“We are committed to work to build a better process for next year so that we ensure that local communities and stakeholders are properly involved.”
Cal Mac says the summer timetable is broadly in line with the situation before the pandemic.
“We are running the same number of sailings, and instead of an unpredictable deployment of the mezzanine deck we are formalising the utilisation of the deck to improve certainty for customers and to try and avoid cancellations and late sailings,” said Mr Drummond.
“We must operate safely and the timetable will ensure we work within the law on allowable working hours.”
Full use of the mezzanine deck on every sailing would require 10 additional crew members -
The total cost of this option was £816,000-
Highland Council is closing Uig harbour next winter to construct a new pier. During this time the linkspan will be unusable for berthing.
Mr Drummond said: “We are currently running a series of consultations, speaking directly with communities affected by the disruption; this process is ongoing until 7 January 2022.
“A number of potential timetable solutions are being discussed with communities and we will take into consideration all community feedback before any plans are confirmed. No final decisions have yet been made but please be assured we will continue to engage with communities throughout this process.”
He added: “All of the staff at CalMac strive to provide the best service we can to all the communities we serve and it is very disappointing to us when we fail to live up to the high standards we set ourselves.
“I want to ensure that we rebuild that trust and am committed to meeting with local representatives as soon in 2022 as circumstances allow.
“The stress of managing through the pandemic, ageing vessels and capacity challenges have caused the business and all of our staff to come under intense and unprecedented pressure.
“That is for us to manage, but all of our staff have been working month after month to keep our services going.
“We continue to strive for the best service we can deliver with the resources we have available and will continue to do so in 2022.”
A spokesman for the Transport Scotland arm of the Scottish Government said: “We remain committed to delivering sustainable ferry services to our island communities.
“The infrastructure upgrades being undertaken by the Highland Council, require the closure of Uig harbour on the Isle of Skye for a period of 21 weeks from 12 September 2022 until 03 February 2023 with an alternative proposed timetable.
“CalMac held three in-