Heads should roll at CMAL

ONCE again I open my Herald to read of yet more malfunctions at Calmac, with the news that after the breakdown of their phone system yesterday (“Customers left high and dry as ferry ticket lines go down”, The Herald, May 13), there is yet more delay to the return from repair of the ferry Loch Seaforth (“New ferry disruption after repair delayed four times”, The Herald, May 14). This is on top of the appalling recent history of ferry failure and the resulting island economic distress.

Calmac struggles with its assets, ferries and harbours but the real culprit in this ongoing bourach is Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Scottish Government.

The job of CMAL is to make the case to the Scottish Government for the cash needed to provide Calmac with reliable ferries. This it clearly is failing to do. So why no resignations? Why is the chairman, Eric Ostergaard, still in position? He has been in charge since 2014 so clearly has failed in his job of extracting cash from the Scottish Government. Similarly, the non-executive directors have failed in their duty while drawing their comfortable fees. CMAL’S job is to provide reliable ferries and harbours for operator Calmac.

And it and its directors have failed miserably. It is time they went.

G Brown, Strathaven.