CalMac: Ferry fiasco causing havoc on our other routes
‘Disruption for communities’ ‘Suffering from the delays’
ThE ferries fiasco, which has seen long delays in the building of two new vessels for CalMac, has caused ‘major disruption’ to other services, MSPs have been told.
David MacBrayne, parent company of ferry operator CalMac, revealed the knock-on impact from the troubled contract and warned of further potential problems caused by its ageing fleet.
It said eight of its 33 ferries were considered to be past their use-by date, meaning islanders face a threat of being cut off if growing numbers of ‘lifeline’ services are cancelled.
A dispute between the former owner of the Ferguson shipyard on the Clyde and the Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) quango has led to long delays to the contract to build two CalMac ferries.
The project was originally estimated at £97million but will now cost more than £230million to complete after the Port Glasgow yard fell into administration and was nationalised by SNP ministers.
In a submission to a holyrood inquiry, David MacBrayne said that its ferries are ‘fully deployed’ during peak Easter and summer months, meaning there is ‘no ability to run additional sailings’.
It said: ‘The average age of the fleet is 23 years, with eight vessels more than 30 years old, against a typical design life of 25 to 30 years. As we have no spare vessels, any technical breakdowns result in major disruption for communities.
‘While significant funds have been invested in vessel resilience, it is inevitable that the risk of technical disruption will increase as the fleet continues to age,’ the firm added.
‘The two new vessels were due into service in 2018. They would have delivered much-needed additional capacity and improved resilience... this would have also released a spare vessel that could have been used, subject to available funding, as a relief vessel which would have helped provide resilience to communities when technical breakdowns occur.’
It added: ‘Our main concern is and always will be the communities we serve. They are the ones who, more than any other stakeholder, are suffering from the delays to these vessels.’
The Glen Sannox ferry, to be used on the Arran route, was expected to enter service in mid-2018 but remains moored at the yard. The second ferry, earmarked for the Skye, harris and North Uist route, is not expected to enter service until summer 2022.
A new ‘vessel replacement and deployment plan’ is expected to be published by the Scottish Government in the spring.
A spokesman said: ‘We recognise the effect on those communities when there are unforeseen impacts on services due to weather or mechanical breakdowns.
‘Transport Scotland is working with CMAL and CalMac to develop investment programmes for major vessels and small vessels with the aim of increased standardisation, taking account of the many and varied routes which CalMac serves.’