South Uist ferry campaigners have accused the Scottish Government of leaving the community to “bear the brunt” of its ferry fiasco.
South Uist Business Impact Group (SUBIG) demands a full return service to the on
a daily basis rather than a one-way, alternate day service.
With no ferry for a week now, after MV Lord of the Isles was removed to provide a
two-ferry service for Islay, islanders have been told they will now only get a service
on alternate days, with a ship shared with Mull, and to a port 86 miles from their
usual mainland departure point of Mallaig.
CalMac’s failure to repair the latest fault on MV Caledonian Isles leaves the shipping
company with even fewer ferries with which to juggle its contract to serve Scotland’s
island-based populations warns the South Uist Business Impact Group (SUBIG).
Refusing to run the ships overnight, other than to Stornoway, the limited number of working ferries are stretched beyond hope of providing a reliable service says the group.
Under the established timetable, eleven return sailings are required every week from Lochboisdale to Mallaig until late October.
But CalMac intends to run just three return trips per week - with a detour to Oban,
some 86 miles from Mallaig - with no Monday sailings, until the MV Caledonian Isles
returns to service.
The group slams CalMac for refusing to transfer MV Coruisk from the Skye Armadale-Mallaig
route to provide a two-vessel service Oban - Craignure route and switch MV Isle of
Mull to Uist.
The refusal appears to be in conflict with CalMac’s own route prioritisation framework which classes the Armadale service as of the lowest priority in times of network disruption.
Skye has a bridge allowing 24-hour travel for people and traffic to get to and from
mainland, thus is in less need of a ferry than the Outer Hebrides points out the
group.
Rupert Marshall, who runs a guest house on South Uist, said: “CalMac’s claims that they can cope with all current booked traffic by running a very limited service to South Uist ignores that they have closed the route to new bookings for over a week now: it can only cope because people have been unable to book.”
John Daniel Peteranna, director of community landowner Stòras Uibhist, said: “We really need the minister to take CalMac in hand.
“Throwing us breadcrumbs of a service and expecting us to be grateful demonstrates
the lack of understanding among mainland-based management and government.”
South Uist’s ferry is 35 years old, the only one of the fleet able to operate a sustainable
service from Mallaig and no replacement has yet been ordered. None of the six new-build
ships poised to join the network will fit the route.
While government ferry agency CMAL has placed plans for a new-build ship to replace
MV Lord of the Isles on its top priority list, a previous bid for funding was rejected.
A beefed-up business case is being submitted. The tender process to seek shipyards
to construct the proposed vessel is on hold in case the finance is not forthcoming.
CalMac says sharing MV Isle of Mull will ensure demand is met for capacity from both
Mull and Lochboisdale. MV Coruisk is smaller and therefore would not cope with the
current level of bookings on the Oban-Craignure service, while the Isle of Mull will
cope with both added the shipping company.
A lack of additional crew numbers rules out any opportunity to operate extra hours to and from South Uist.
Booked traffic is currently being moved onto the combined timetable, so the booking system is temporarily closed. It will reopen as soon as this has been completed said CalMac.
South Uist sidelined with ‘breadcrumbs’ of a ferry service
2 October 2024
