Who’s to blame?

Sir,

With the cancellation of numerous crossings, withdrawal of booking reservations at short notice made in good faith well ahead of time, locals, island businesses and tourists left stranded and in serious difficulty, holidays cancelled, lost business to the island, criticism of CalMac has been full of fury and vitriol.

Strong winds and Covid incidents the principle cause of late.

Mr Neil HC Arthur’s letter published in The Arran Banner, Friday August 13, offers excellent insight into where the blame should be apportioned in my opinion. Ageing ferries – over half of CalMac’s fleet – are now operating past life expectancy. Breakdowns inevitable, especially in challenging weather conditions and high turnover of vehicles and passengers.

Further, many modern cars are bigger and heavier now and were not figured into the design of many of the ferries; mezzanine vehicle decks on older ferries face a growing challenge.

The two new ferries well past their delivery date – will they, too, be out of date with the requirements of the century they enter service?

Cancellations because of positive Covid tests in the crew. CalMac have no choice, they have to obey the law the Scottish Government imposes. Who is responsible? Not CalMac. My observations above convince me that if anyone’s feet are to be held to the fire to excite positive change, it is those of our Scottish Government, CalMac is as much a victim in this nightmare as we are.

Yours,

Gordon McGinn

Troon