Seafarers unions prevented the private MV Pentalina ferry being hired by Cal Mac accuses the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee.
The Pentalina’s owners, Pentland Ferries, pulled out of a proposed year long agreement to charter the 70-
Talks were at an extremely advanced stage with plans to have the Pentalina boosting the Cal Mac fleet this month.
According to the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee the blame lies squarely with the RMT and Nautilus unions raising “supposed” safety concerns and allegedly attacking the reputation of Andrew Banks, the managing director of Pentland Ferries.
The group stated the RMT set out to “intimidate” Pentland Ferries and “prevent” the Pentalina from entering the fleet.
However, in announcing the charter withdrawal Andrew Banks said the stumbling block “fundamentally stem from the very different status of a public-
The RMT union pointed out marine safety regulator, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, carried out an inspection and stopped the vessel form operating due to fire safety issues.
The ferry users’ panel said: “In the past few days, the RMT and Nautilus unions have been raising supposed safety concerns with the Pentalina.
“They have described Andrew Banks (owner of Pentland Ferries) as “a buccaneer”, “dodgy” and having “a cavalier approach to safety.”
The committee claimed the safety issue was “minor” and could be “fixed in a matter of hours.”
“The RMT clearly perceive the Pentalina to be a threat, perhaps because the crew are not union members; or perhaps because the Pentalina demonstrates how much more productive our ferries could be.”
The RMT said Andrew Banks failed to inform the MCA about alterations to the Pentalina.
The MCA had previously inspected the vessel and recently issued a new operating certificate. However, that permit was withdrawn after the union accurately pointed to a safety deficiency said the RMT.
Unions accused over Pentalina charter cancellation
1 July 2021
