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Harris business group issues ‘Mayday’ letter in wake of more ferry cancellations

MV Hebrides.
MV Hebrides sailings now cancelled for third time in a week.

An influential Harris business group has issued a “Mayday” call to the Scottish government which it maintains is “slapping us in the face” as chaos surrounding the island’s ferry service continues to reverberate across the Minch.

CalMac’s MV Hebrides ferry was been cancelled again Tuesday as a problem with the ship’s firefighting system – which also saw the vessel taken out of service a week ago – triggered a temporary timetable set up to serve Uig, Lochmaddy and Tarbet.

An update from CalMac says Wednesday’s sailing programme has equally been ditched after the same problem continues to plague the vessel.

But businesses on Harris are starting to feel the pinch as custom dries up.

MV Hebrides ferry leaving Uig.
MV Hebrides leaving Uig. Picture by Shutterstock.

News of the cancellations comes ahead of a planned closure of Uig Harbour on Skye for six months as massive upgrade work is carried out with Harris Development saying urgent remedies are now required to help struggling island companies.

People on Harris are beyond cheesed off.”

Harris Development chairman Kenny MacLeod

 

“We are business people and all we are seeing is our government slapping us in the face and telling us “we are not interested in you,” Harris Development chairman Kenny MacLeod told the Press and Journal.

“People on Harris are beyond cheesed off – you could not make it up. I was speaking to one shopkeeper in Tarbet and they said the day the ferry does not come in she sees a 40% reduction in takings.

“It is the whole island economy hammered; self-catering, tour operators, food and accommodation providers.

“CalMac is not having their toes held to the fire. The communities have been saying for years there should be two vessels not one. That was ignored.”

Jenny Gilruth
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth.

Harris Development, which has written the “Mayday” letter to Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth requesting an urgent meeting, claims the MV Hebrides is “one of the most congested vessels in the whole fleet”.

This may also be partly due to the ferry, believed to be around 20 years old, having to cope with a significant increase in car size as SUVs become more popular and also the prevalence of campervans particularly in the summer months taking up far more space on the decks.

“We have been asking for donkeys years for two ferries on the triangular route (Uig, Lochmaddy and Tarbet),” said Mr MacLeod, adding: “We have got ferries that can’t cross The Minch in a Force 8 or Force 9 – that is the regular weather here.”

Transport minister to meet Harris Development

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “Ministers are fully appraised of the situation regarding the MV Hebrides.

“The vessel suffered an outage only last week and despite the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) approving her return to service on Friday, the vessel is now out of action again, causing disruption to islanders and local businesses.”

“The minister has previously met the Harris Development minister in Tarbert and listened to their concerns earlier this year.

“The minister will of course accept the invitation to meet the group again noting the very real impacts this recent outage has had on the local community.”

The ministry added during any disruptions CalMac will prioritise sailings to ensure delivery of essential supplies and export of island products.

Calmac “exploring contingency plans”

For its part CalMac noted: “Due to a technical issue affecting MV Hebrides, all sailings are cancelled for August 3. This is due to an issue with the vessel’s CO2 firefighting system.

“We are currently exploring contingency plans and will provide an update when available.”

The six-month closure from this October has been triggered by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL)’s need to construct a new 102 metre dual fuel vessel to serve the Skye Triangle route with funding provided by the Scottish government.

However, the vessel is one of two sitting unfinished in the Ferguson Marine shipyard as a result of the Scottish ferries fiasco.

Hull of 802 new ferry in construction.
“Hull 802”, the CalMaC ferry under construction at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow. The project has been widely criticised for lengthy delays and spiralling costs.

A recent Audit Scotland report warned the vessels will not be in service until 2023 at the earliest.

It also found the project is now running at more than twice the original budget.

Mr Macleod added: “This 802, if it comes, will give us nothing new. Let’s just say I am not holding my breath.

The Harris Development chairman said one hotel was already mulling closing for the winter, adding: “I know one business has said if there is no ferry coming to Tarbet they will need to close – that is probably half a dozen jobs going.

“We can’t accept nothing can be done. One of the things we will be looking to do is have a public meeting in the next week or so.

“What we are saying is why are they running a transport system with no back up?

Urgent response required

In his letter to the transport minister, Mr MacLeod noted it was now the third time the MV Hebrides had been taken out of service due to firefighting issues, a situation which was “barely credible” for a ship which had annual maintenance a few months ago.

The letter adds: “When a Mayday call is heard an urgent response is required. Everything else needs to be put to the side.

“We are imploring you to come and meet us and set out how you are going to save us from the demise your department, Transport Scotland, CMAL and CalMac between them have inflicted onto our community.

MV Hebrides ferry.
MV Hebrides sailings cancelled due to fire protection issues.

“Every cancelled sailing adds more fuel to the funeral pyre and pushes many businesses and residents closer to the edge for packing up and leaving.

“The only remedy is immediate and direct action to save our communities by providing the necessary vessels and funding to allow us to carry on living here.”

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