Ferry cancelled ‘after five crew fail breath test’
FERRY operator CalMac is investigating its own staff after a sailing was cancelled amid allegations five crew failed breathalyser tests.
Passengers on Islay were left stranded on Tuesday after the 7am CalMac sailing from Port Ellen to Kennacraig was suddenly cancelled.
Ticket holders have claimed they were waiting to board when they witnessed a man get on the MV Isle of Arran with a breathalyser before being told they would have to take a later service.
At the scene, passengers were told the cancellation was due to a technical issue, before sources close to the company later claimed that it was down to five crew testing over the limit for alcohol.
Paul Graham, from Bruichladdich, Islay, said: ‘At 6.35am I noticed a chap in a white shirt wander into the office and come out with a bag and quickly realised it was a breathalyser that was going on to the vessel.
‘Next thing the marshalling staff went and got still water to hand out to foot passengers and said there was a technical delay.
‘Moments later the staff approached drivers and said “Sorry, the vessel is not sailing for technical reasons, and we have rebooked you on the 9.45am sailing”. I got a call from a reliable source on Islay, close to the company, who confirmed to me that five crew had been suspended as they had been breathalysed and had been found to be over the limit.
‘There have been instances before when crew members have been breathalysed and suspended but to my knowledge it hasn’t stopped the sailing of the vessel.
‘If you lose five crew, then that kind of number does affect the operational ability of the vessel. There were about 20 cars and a couple of trucks waiting to go on that ferry. To say that we are not happy is an understatement.’
Islay McEachern, chairman of the Islay Ferry Committee, said: ‘We heard it was technical difficulties but then this other rumour came out.’ The community group emailed CalMac saying it had been informed ‘several crew members had been found to be above the permitted alcohol limit’.
The company simply said it was ‘an operational matter’.
One Islay resident, who did not want to be named, said the ferry had been in dry dock in Greenock for repair. The local explained: ‘She only returned to Islay on Monday night and was due to resume service the next morning.
‘In normal circumstances crew are not allowed to buy alcohol in Islay the night before, but they were in dry dock in Greenock so it was probably a wee celebration that they were back in service.’
A CalMac spokesman said: ‘We can confirm MV Isle of Arran was taken out of service due to an HR matter concerning a number of individuals.
‘Formal investigations are under way. We regret that some passengers experienced inconvenience.’
‘It was probably a wee celebration’