New ‘green’ ferry is so last century
ONCE again the Scottish Government is quick to hail what is apparently a great ‘green’ breakthrough for Scotland and in particular its ferry services. To great fanfare the launch of the MV Glen Sannox was lauded as being the latest in environmentally friendly marine technology showing Scotland as world-leading. Well, not really. This ship merely reinforces how very 20th Century Cal-Mac’s services remain. The Glen Sannox is yet another very expensive, heavy steel-hulled traditional-shaped roll-on, roll-off ferry, requiring hundreds of tons of water ballast to keep it upright and whose profile will make it difficult to control at slow speed in high wind (therefore unsuitable for Ardrossan Harbour). The basic flaw in the replacement plan for the Arran service was laid bare last week when, once again, the dependence on a single ship caused the islanders to be cut off because of the failure of a single component on the Caledonian Isles. Liquid natural gas (LNG) may well be a cleaner fuel than the extremely polluting heavy marine diesel used in previous ferries but there is a risk that depending on a single vessel with new technology engines may risk future breakdowns due to teething troubles. The fact that the fuel will have to be transported from Qatar (Mail) with concomitant global pollution renders the ship’s green credentials less convincing. The operating costs will, of course, remain high due to the ridiculously generous terms and conditions of the crew. As advised to Scottish governments over decades by world-renowned authorities, the answer to efficient ferry service for Arran would have been to build two much lighter and far less expensive aluminium-hulled low profile vessels (less at the mercy of the wind). These require much smaller crews on shore-based terms and conditions running on environmentally friendly fuel (LNG if you like) and give a faster and more frequent shuttle service from early in the morning until late in the evening — providing a full link for the islanders with the mainland economy, which would bring its own benefits. Such a strategy would vastly reduce, or possibly eliminate, the need for heavy subsidisation we all pay for through taxation. Far from being a world-leading step this actually leaves Cal-Mac firmly stuck in the past and holds back development on Arran.
REG SHORT, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire.