Arran rallies round to help stranded ferry passengers
Actions of CalMac and police praised as fog cancels last sailing
Residents of Arran rallied to help when around 60 people were left stranded overnight on the island last Saturday after the last ferry was cancelled due to thick fog.
CalMac staff at Brodick and Police Scotland officers on the island were being praised this week for pulling out all the stops to help those unable to get off the island find overnight accommodation - much of it provided by private homeowners - after being put in an impossible position.
More passengers would have been stranded by the cancellation of the MV Caledonian Isles due to the weather if it had not been for additional MV Alfred sailings which only started the day before.
Early reports of the incident claimed the 6.30pm sailing of the MV Alfred had left “half full” but these failed to recognise that the catamaran is only able to accommodate 230 passengers under the lease agreement from Pentland Ferries, despite having a design capacity for 430 passengers. This is probably for reasons such as crew numbers and lifejacket numbers.
Operator CalMac said the MV Alfred had reached its legal capacity quickly and police were called to Brodick harbour as boarding for the sailing got under way and as tempers frayed among those left behind.
Arran Sergeant Kevin Blackley confirmed officers attended the ferry terminal about 6.30pm after being made aware of an alleged disturbance.
CalMac said that it was a fast-moving situation and staff worked as hard as possible to help.
One staff member said: “I know for a fact that the Brodick team went above and beyond what they needed to do.
“There’s an emergency response for Arran in times like these but, unfortunately, our team was not able to get hold of them.
“It was the Brodick team who then stepped in to help find accommodation, to drive people to B&Bs, to sort food out for the people who they couldn’t find anywhere to stay for.
“They also contacted the police to ask for help to find accommodation. The Brodick team also appealed on Facebook for the local community to help.”
Sgt Blackley added: “Those persons who were not able to find alternative accommodation, about 30, were allowed to remain within the ferry terminal and were accompanied by a police officer throughout the night to ensure their wellbeing. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who were able to assist.”
Don McKillop, area operations manager (Clyde) for CalMac, said: “Heavy fog affected several of our routes across the Clyde and Argyll throughout Saturday, with conditions deteriorating so badly that the last sailing out of Brodick was the 6.30pm on Saturday.
“This was an extremely difficult decision to make but sailing in those conditions was not possible. Full capacity on MV Alfred was reached quickly, meaning that, unfortunately, several passengers could not get on the last ferry.
“CalMac staff in Brodick worked extremely hard to find accommodation for most, including children, while a small number of them were supported by our staff to stay in the terminal building at Brodick.
“I am very grateful to the local community and to the local police who helped us to find accommodation, and to the CalMac team at Brodick who pulled out all the stops to help stranded passengers.”
❚ See Colin Smeeton’s diary aboard the first sailing of the MV Alfred on pages 4 and 5