Don’t let politics decide route, say British Ports

Associated British Ports guaranteed an improvement in the number of ferry cancellations at one of their two drop-in meetings on Arran this week.

The two meetings, one held in Brodick Hall on Monday, and the other at Shiskine Golf Club the following day, saw five mem- bers of ABP available to answer any questions and provide information to anyone wishing to find out more about their bid to transfer the Arran ferry service to the Port of Troon.

Audio-visual

The events saw a steady flow of supporters and curious members of the public putting their questions to port manager Stuart Creswell and Captain John Munro, who, together with the assistance of various maps and an audio-visual presentations, worked at dispelling some of the ‘inaccuracies that have been disseminated according to project fear’.

Mr Cresswell said: ‘A large concern that visitors had is how politicised the whole thing has become.

‘Don’t let politics decide, let the technical details decide and listen to the consultants who will shortly provide an independent study by the University of Glasgow, requested by the Scottish Government, who are undertaking full vessel simulator trials of both competing ports.

‘ABP can offer a 75 per cent improvement on ferry cancellations and we believe that we can offer a genuine win/win solution for ferry users, CalMac and the Scottish Government.’

01_B09ABP01 Port manager Stuart Cresswell, centre, and deputy harbour master Captain John Munro show visitors how the new ferry compares to the Caledonian Isles.

01_B09ABP02 A member of the public watches an audio visual presentation on ABP’s proposal and what it can offer the travelling public.