Not fit for purpose

Sir, I note that most ferry sailings cancelled on Tuesday January 10 were already cancelled by CalMac on the Monday evening due to expected ‘gusts of more than 40mph’ on Tuesday. I checked on several different weather sites, and failed to find any suggestions of such strong winds. The BBC weather forecast at 8am on Tuesday mentioned ‘breezy’ weather, but no warnings of anything windier. The fact that there was only one return sailing on Tuesday is a disgrace. CalMac should have left the service on amber alert overnight and would have been able to provide a reasonable service for much of Tuesday.

I see that CalMac has already cancelled all sailings by MV Isle of Arran for Thursday January 12 ‘due to high winds’.

Once again, this is a disgracefully premature decision. Again, I have checked some weather websites, and notice that for much of Thursday, winds are not excessively strong, gusting to less than 30 knots.

It seems to me, that, as a heavily subsidised company providing lifeline ferry services to the Scottish islands, including Arran, CalMac is not fit for purpose. It is appalling that CalMac was awarded the contract for the ferry services when it clearly has failed to provide a proper, economic and efficient service to many of the Scottish islands, including Arran.

Unfortunately, while vested interests are having so much influence on blinkered and short-sighted decision-makers, we are stuck with what must be one of the worst ferry operators in the developed world.

Yours,

Douglas Hamilton, Lamlash.