CalMac is working hard
Sir, I appreciate the points that Russ MacLean and other recent correspondents have been making about the reliability of the ferry service to Arran over the past month, and understand how frustrating this must be for communities and local businesses.
Before addressing the issues he raises, I would like to thank him for recognising the efforts of our staff, and to reassure everyone on the island we are working at maximum effort to maintain services. I would also like to acknowledge his previous letter of August 25 and the points he outlines so clearly in that.
The growing popularity of ferry travel is in no doubt. Between 2012 and 2017, the number of cars carried has grown by 37% to 1.43m per year and passenger numbers have risen by 17% to 5.2 million per year across the network.
While this is very positive news for island economies, it is unquestionably putting added strain on the resources we have to work with. The growth in traffic over the summer is also worth highlighting: from June to August we see a 20% increase in total passenger numbers.
Following the ferries plan, our major vessels are making many more sailings and are at full capacity. There is no flexibility or headroom in the timetable to deploy relief vessels in the event of technical breakdown.
For Arran, add in the delay of the Glen Sannox, which would have provided much needed capacity, as disappointing for us as the operator as it is for everyone else, and we are left to deploy all the energy and expertise we have to deliver the contract within the fleet assets we currently have.
However, apologies and excuses do not resolve the day-to-day problems people and businesses are experiencing. Action to address the issues being highlighted is what people rightly want to see.
We are working hard with CMAL and Transport Scotland to put in place plans to satisfy the long-term ferry needs of the island. In the short term, the recently announced £3.5 million obsolescence fund by the Scottish Government will help improve speed of response to future technical issues, and we are carefully planning how and where best to use this.
We are also working to improve on-board maintenance of our vessels to increase their resilience with the introduction a new mobile maintenance team. This team will be able to respond quickly to any technical issues to reduce the need for vessels to be taken out of service.
I want to be as open and honest with the community about the issues we face and what we are doing about them as I possibly can. My team and I are in constant contact with the Arran Ferry Committee and at our next meeting I will be making an offer to attend a public meeting on the island to discuss the current challenges and what we are doing to meet them, if they think the community would find that useful.
Yours, Robbie Drummond, managing director, CalMac.