Western Isles
THE LOCAL authority for the Western Isles, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, has welcomed the support of Highlands and Islands MPs in the campaign to reinstate an Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) covering the north west of Scotland.
The move comes ahead of the forthcoming UK government spending review.
SNP MPs representing Highlands and Islands areas met with Robert Goodwill MP, parliamentary under secretary of state for transport, to make the case for the ETV for the West Coast.
Councillor Angus Campbell, leader of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, said: ‘It’s good to see MPs acting together for the Highlands and Islands and I very much welcome their support in the campaign to reinstate the ETV which used to be based in Stornoway but was cut in 2010.
‘The absence of such a vessel puts maritime users and the environment at increased risk and we call on the UK Government to act in the interests of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland by reintroducing a West Coast-based ETV.’
AN EXHIBITION of CalMac memorabilia and artefacts spanning 130 years has proved popular in its first summer on display in the Western Isles.
The collection has been running at Lochmaddy Post Office, North Uist, and belongs to local port assistant John MacDonald.
It includes various items relating to the company’s history, such as books of MacBrayne tours from 1903-1910, tickets for routes around the ferry network, along with old crockery and serving dishes marked with the CalMac crest.
There is also a section about arrangements that the Royal Navy had with CalMac ferries for reporting enemy ships in the 1970s, during the Cold War.
Mr MacDonald, who has worked with CalMac for 10 years, has been collecting his memorabilia for more than 20 years, with the items on display only a small fraction of his full collection.
A MILITARY drone found on a beach in the Western Isles has been handed over to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The target drone was given to the rocket testing range department of the MoD, after the coastguard in Benbecula was alerted on Thursday, October 22 to the discovery on North Uist.
A member of public had come across the drone while out walking at Baleshare.
The drone has since been picked up by staff at the rocket range in South Uist.
It is understood the drone is for training in the use of weaponry systems. Occasionally, military hardware does end up on the shore up and down the Western Isles due to activity at a rocket range in South Uist, which tests weapons.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency urged anyone finding suspected military equipment or ordnance not to touch it and call 999.
Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP, Angus MacNeil said he would be writing to the MoD following the find.
He said: ‘ While we welcome the military exercise, it is concerning that military litter is left around afterwards.
‘I would imagine that the MoD would have more control and knowledge over their equipment than this, and I wouldn’t like to think of a lobster boat colliding with a drone given its weight and size.
‘I want the MoD to be open and transparent, and to tell us if there is any more military equipment in our waters that we should be looking out for.’