Calmac up to the challenge

I ENJOYED reading Ian Mcconnell’s Friday column (“Storm over Scotland’s vital ferry services must not end in break-up or privatisation”, The Herald, November 11). It was a clearsighted view of the strategic issues facing the service, and an antidote against some of the more inaccurate claims consistently being made.

The issue is a significant reduction in fares which led to accelerating demand and a strain on capacity, as investment in new vessels has been delayed. The biggest operational challenge we face is not reliability, it is a shortfall in capacity. Every major vessel is fully deployed to the full extent of the working day, and there is no capacity for additional sailings to cover for peak demand periods or technical failures. No commercial ferry company would deploy all of their assets all of the time, as this simply leads to burn-out.

The increase in demand,

20-35% over five years depending on the route, is a tremendous success story for island economic sustainability, but one which is now increasingly difficult to manage. We have hauliers, islanders, tourists and commercials all trying to access a limited car-deck capacity. In the past, islanders had the flexibility to travel when they wanted, but increasingly they must plan ahead, which is difficult when you are going about your day-to-day business. Several years ago, when a sailing was disrupted, we could move passengers on to the next sailing. However, we are finding now that the next sailings are fully booked making it far more difficult to manage disruptions.

While the next year or two will remain challenging we now have six large vessels and 10 small vessels on order or being planned which will make a real difference for our communities.

We are modern, open and professional, with a diverse and deep maritime experience. We are happy to talk to anyone about the real facts of the service, and how it can be improved.

Robbie Drummond, Chief Executive, Calmac, Gourock.