Could Campbeltown be any port in a storm for ferry?
The possibility of Campbeltown being used as a mainland port for the Arran ferry is to be considered by CalMac, it was agreed this week.
However the Isle of Arran Ferry committee made it clear that while it thought it a possibility in an extreme situation it would not support it as a port of refuge, given it is 140 miles from Glasgow and has relatively poor transport links.
The topic came up during a long discussion on the urgent need for the ferry to have a port of refuge, as Gourock is no longer available
CalMac managing director Robbie Drummond said he did not know when or if the harbour at Gourock would be able to be used again as it required extensive work, not just to the linkspan, but to the outer concrete structure. He said port owner CMAL (Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd) was currently looking at a list of options but he was not yet aware what these were.
Other options considered included Wemyss Bay but CalMac operations director Robert Morrison said that while the MV Isle of Arran could dock there it would not have helped during the recent weather.
The meeting was asked if Campbeltown was an option and it was agreed that despite being 140 miles from Glasgow it should be considered but only as a last-ditch option and not as a port of refuge.
Suggestion
Dunoon was the next suggestion where there is a linkspan, which has not been used for nine years, and this will be looked at.
Arran Economic Group chairman Tom Tracey, thinking outside the box, even came up with Rothesay as an option, if boats were sailing from there.
Throughout the debate there was no mention of Troon until Linda Johnston brought it up. But it was quickly dismissed by the CalMac representatives as, they said, it was ‘equally badly affected as Ardrossan’ and ‘not a reasonable alternative’.
However, they said work was underway which could improve the harbour and they did not rule out using it once this work was done in specific reference to the development work at Ardrossan.
The meeting began with a discussion on events surrouding the New Year holiday chaos.
Mr Morrison explained it had been an almost ‘perfect storm’ which had led to the widespread disruption from January 2 which had, very unusually, seen sailings stormed off across the whole network.
He was asked why the Caledonian Isles had to go in for its annual refit in January and he explained the schedule to service the 33 boats in the fleet was a very tight 26 weeks which had to be arranged a year in advance, when they could not have known weather conditions.
However, Auchrannie managing director Linda Johnston explained that the day after New Year was one of the island’s busiest days of the year when the island was full and relying on the two smaller boats meant there was a ‘high likelihood’ that something would go wrong.
He said that with hindsight they may have been able to keep the Caley Isles in service for one or two days, but there was no guarantee it would have sailed and it may have missed its dry dock berthing spot at Gourock.
Members felt that removing the Caley Isles the day after New Year was a ‘bad plan’ and CalMac should have created more space around the holiday period.
As is known, the widespread cancellation of services on January 2 led to major traffic problems in Brodick which the police eventually had to deal with. Arran sergeant Dougie Robertson said drivers were getting mixed messages and that ‘tempers became frayed’, with only drivers with a ‘lucky ticket’ getting on the boats. He praised the staff at the pier who he said ‘worked like Trojans’.
No guarantee
Mr Morrison and Mr Drummond agreed they would look at the Caley Isles going in a couple of days later next year, but gave no guarantee it would be possible. They also said they would look at the suggestions that it go in for its refit in November or March instead but said this could pose difficulties with the ‘legal requirements’ of servicing the boats.
Chairman Iain Thomson asked if Arran could not have a more robust boat such as the MV Clansman or the MV Hebrides, which have previously covered the route. ‘The smaller boats are not fit for purpose at this time of year. We should have a bigger boat.’
He was told this was now impossible as they were needed on routes such as Coll and Tiree which could not be served by the MV Isle of Arran because of the dangers a recent incident had highlighted.
There was also a wide ranging discussion on the decision to run a shuttle service between Lochranza and Claonaig on Sunday January 5 which saw hundreds of cars and foot passengers queueing to get on.
While it was agreed there had been an urgent need for the service, there was criticism of the way it had been advertised with committee members concerned that drivers had turned up thinking they were guaranteed to get off the island, which was not the case. There was also concern that hundreds of foot passengers had arrived in Cloanaig unaware there were no forward transport links there.
The CalMac chiefs agreed that this was something which could be looked at but Mr Drummond did not commit to CalMac providing onward transport at any destination as CalMac ‘was not a bus company’.
Another bone of contention was the ‘mixed messages’ which went out on the CalMac app, social media and the company website which communication director Stuart Wilson said they were working hard to fully co-ordinate.
Community council chairman Bill Calderwood said what was needed was ‘clear, concise, consistent communication of clarity and brevity’.
Mr Wilson explained that they were attempting to create a ‘single point of truth’ across seven platforms so that all the official statements coming from the company were all compatible.
He said a ‘mate at the port’ telling someone the 7am sailing would be going, when it was not, may think they were helping but this could simply lead to further confusion.
Linda Johnston said
Auchrannie had 300 people on site at New Year and since she said the resort accounted for 25 per cent of all visitors to the island in a year it was important that it was made aware of any last minute changes in sailings. She was assured it and other hotels would receive this information from the port.
Mrs Johnston added: ‘We want to be a worldwide tourist destination but the ferry situation is not helping, with Mr Thomson adding: ‘People who came for a New Year break will never come back because of their experience.’
VisitArran’s Sheila Gilmore also raised concern about the yellow ‘be aware’ warning introduced three years ago which she said put people off travelling.
Alastair Dobson asked what parameters were there to use the flag as he said: ‘For tourists it is still a bit like Chinese whispers.’
Mr Morrison said it had been introduced at the request of passengers but they could look at how it was used.