An island businessman is calling for a second boat and tunnel to serve the Western Isles to finally end the “reshuffling” of the west coast ferry routes.
Roddy MacKay, from Benbecula, hit out following the news the MV Isle of Mull will be redeployed to cover the Little Minch services to Lochmaddy and Tarbert in the Western Isles.
After the MV Hebrides was taken for urgent repairs to Greenock on August 2, there has been repeated disruption on the islands.
Mr Mackay, a former Western Isles councillor who runs the Eilean Dorcha Festival, said the evidence was gathering for a long-term solution.
He said: “Ferry travel is becoming impossible. Online passengers are being told the service is full, but when people get onto the ferry it turns out that the cars and passengers are nowhere near capacity.
‘This is the island clearances’
“There is a growing train of thought that things are being done deliberately.”
He said: “This is the island clearances.
“People are starting to go elsewhere rather than visit the islands, and they are choosing to go somewhere much easier to get to.
“One local business, a bistro, has had 10 people cancel a booking each night for 10 days, so it is not only the cost of the accommodation that has been cancelled.
“When someone cancels it means that staff have their shifts cut as well.”
‘Build a tunnel’
Mr MacKay believes the solution was simple.
He said: “In the short term we need a dedicated second ferry for the route, and we need it urgently.
“But the absolute solution is to build a tunnel, just what lots of people are saying.
“There would be no more cancellations if we had a tunnel – it could even have an underwater roundabout that routed cars to the correct place.
“This is not a mad idea, they are doing it in the Faroe Islands. We can do it here.
“The cost would be £750million – which when you think CalMac are subsidised by £100million it would be the equivalent of less than eight years subsidy.”
He continued: “This is not a new problem – looking back 40 years people were complaining about the ferry breakdowns then.
“It is an absolute no brainer. It is time that it was done.”
‘Calmac is entirely unreliable’
Pàdruig Morrison, of traditional music band Beinn Lee said: “The main issue is that Calmac is entirely unreliable now.
“When a ferry is cancelled to our islands, we soon have no food in our shops, and businesses really struggle to operate as they should.
“Additional boats need to be found for the next three years while the new boats are being built so that island communities and businesses can function without constantly being messed around by Calmac’s fleet of old clapped out vessels.”
CalMac said it was bringing a ferry from the Oban to Mull route to solve the problem in the short term.
Saying he was deeply sorry for the disruption, Robbie Drummond, managing director of CalMac, said: “[The] MV Isle of Mull will move from Mull to Lochmaddy this afternoon while her sailings between Oban and Craignure will be taken over by MV Coruisk.
“Work is expected to be completed on Saturday evening and we anticipate she will be back in service on Sunday. While we aim to move all booked traffic, urgent deliveries and medical appointments will be prioritised.”
Councillor Uisdean Robertson, chairman of transportation and infrastructure at Western Isles Council, said: “This underlines the urgent need for investment in the ferry fleet to ensure that reliability is improved and to avoid the impact always being passed on to others.
“We understand there are no easy decisions for CalMac until such time as there is adequate investment in the fleet at their disposal.”
‘Current situation is unendurable’
The Western Isles’ MP Angus Macneil and MSP Alasdair Allan held talks with the Scottish Government’s transport minister, Jenny Gilruth, on Thursday about the issues facing CalMac.
They were told MV Hebrides could be back in operation on Sunday.
Mr Allan said: “I appreciate the uniqueness of the situation CalMac faces in having a firefighting system repaired and cleared by the MCA, only to see the same issue reoccur days later.
“However, that’s of no solace to the communities that have seen their vessel taken out of service for the fifth time this year. It’s ultimately islanders and island businesses and that pay the price of these large scale disruptions.
“The meeting left CalMac and Transport Scotland in no doubt that the current situation is unendurable.”
Mr Macneil added: “I think everyone is gobsmacked that the same system affects the same boat in a matter of days.
“We can all feel the frustration of the effects of ferries breaking down.
“I am encouraged that the Scottish Government is trying to source an extra vessel that can be on standby when a vessel breaks down which many of us have urged them to do.”
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