Isle of Harris faces three months without a ferry
HARRIS faces having no ferry for three months because of upgrade work to accommodate a ship that is currently languishing unbuilt in a nationalised shipyard.
Ferry traffic on the Skye triangle route, that connects Harris with Skye and Uist, faces disruption when the pier at Uig on Skye is out of action in autumn next year.
Closure will last for around three months from September 2021 for a new linkspan to be installed and infrastructure upgraded.
The North Uist ferry will sail between Lochmaddy and Ullapool during this period.
There will be no ferry for Tarbert on Harris, though. Tarbert passengers and traffic will be re-directed via the Stornoway-ullapool service, with additional capacity being provided on the route.
Calmac’s operations’ director Robert Morrison said: “While this closure is some time away, we are keen to engage with customers as early as possible.
“This will ensure a detailed service continuity plan in development is reflective of their needs and allow us to communicate alternative service arrangements.”
Calmac will be setting up community information events in the coming months to keep customers informed of alternative timetable arrangements.
The main pier in North Uist is to be upgraded after a
£10.1 million contract was awarded recently, though it will have to wait years longer for the new ferry it is being designed for.
The work is designed to improve and modernise harbour facilities and prepare the way for one of two new ferries, which are at least three years behind schedule and £100m over budget.
The ferries are being built at Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow, which won the £97m contract to build two ferries for Arran and the Hebrides in 2015. The ships were to be a new hybrid design, powered by marine diesel oil and liquefied natural gas, but construction fell way behind schedule.
The Glen Sannox, destined for the Arran route, was expected to enter service in mid-2018 but it 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 – though that date is now open to question.