Summer of ferry disruption

Outer Hebrides Tourism (OHT) is calling for the Scottish Government to provide a “satisfactory, fit-for-purpose” ferry service for the Western Isles after summer season bookended by disruption.

The local tourism industry body said it “sees no end to the critical issues” caused by the unreliability of vessels.

The Western Isles economy lost £6 million estimates the OHT due to lengthy ferry disruptions cascading along the network when the MV Clansman seriously damaged her propulsion system at Easter - an issue which put the ship out of action for many weeks.

Now, at the end of the summer, a third episode of ferry upheaval causes tourists to abandon their holidays, leaving numerous accommodation and activities providers with last minute cancellations.

Ian Fordham, chair of OHT said: “Whilst the Scottish Government must now invest in Cal Mac to improve fleet resilience, they should also recompense our local businesses and invest in rebuilding confidence in the Outer Hebrides as a tourist destination after the negative economic impact of this summer's ferry fiasco.

“This has hit tourism business not just this summer but its future growth too.”

The organisation called for measures to address the problem of Cal Mac’s ageing fleet and its “inability to move beyond the knife-edge” on which it sits for service reliability.

General pressure on most Outer Hebrides ferry routes have to be dealt with, it added.

Construction delays to two new ferries with nothing else in a build pipeline are another concern, particularly against the trend of traffic and visitor growth to the islands.

The OHT said the vast majority of the 218,000 tourists visiting to the islands annually travel by ferry.

Even without ferry cancellations, there has been limited peak availability on several routes throughout this summer.

Mr Fordham said: “We continue to raise this significant risk to the sustainability of our tourism businesses.

“The Outer Hebrides is a stunning place for tourists to visit and enjoy all year around but we want them to be able to get here and home again without disruption.

“There has been a distinct lack of any visible action this summer from Transport Scotland and successive Scottish Government ministers - as ministerial responsibility for ferries has changed three times in the past six months alone - to address this despite the local economic impact.”

Longer term, the recently publicised, multi-year delays in delivering any new vessels restricts the Outer Hebrides’ ability to grow the tourism sector, create opportunities and retain young people on the islands said the body.

The OHT maintains four new vessels - in addition to the ones under construction - or three ships plus a fixed link in the Sound of Harris, are required to provide a satisfactory service and “room for our tourism sector to sustain and flourish.”

Tourism industry calls for compensation following summer of ferry disruption

6 September 2018