Fleet now showing its age

Are ferries breaking down more often?

Without CalMac’s Western Isles ferries, communities and businesses in the islands simply can’t survive. With figures obtained by The Press and Journal, we can see exactly how the age of the fleet is affecting this vital service.

Ferry routes are the vital links that connect the Western Isles to Scotland’s mainland.

Some, like the route between Stornoway and Ullapool, are a lifeline for the area’s biggest towns while others provide interisland connections.

The ferries scandal has seen new vessels for CalMac’s fleet undelivered and has left these routes served by ferries far older than the recommended age.

By the end of the decade, Transport Scotland wants all ferries to be under 15 years old.

There will always be ferry cancellations, for various reasons.

But the percentage of those cancellations caused by technical issues with the vessels themselves, rather than reasons such as poor weather, is increasing over time.

In 2007, the routes saw almost no cancellations due to technical faults.

Now, breakdowns are all too familiar to islanders.

With the increase in faults in mind, it’s no surprise that overall reliability has also dipped.

For both the StornowayUllapool and Uig-LochmaddyTarbert routes, their reliability in 2023 was the lowest in more than a decade.

And the Berneray-Leverburgh service saw 6% of services cancelled due to technical issues.

A spokesperson for CalMac described the less obvious ways that ageing ferries can impact reliability.

For instance, not only do older ferries break down more, but replacement parts become increasingly hard to source.

Some parts have to be made from scratch meaning that the ferries are out of service for longer.

CalMac’s CEO Robbie Drummond said: “Investment in ferry maintenance grew to well over £43 million in 2023 compared with just £20m in 2017.”

“The six major and 10 small new vessels coming over the next few years are very much welcome.

“However, we face a difficult period as we wait in anticipation for them to be fully operational on the network.

“In the meantime, we will continue to work to ensure the best possible outcomes for all who rely on our services.”

Percentage of cancellations on each ferry route that were caused by technical issues, per year

The Isle of Lewis, which was built in 1995, at Oban.