Barra food supplies

He said: “Earlier this morning I spoke to the Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf, about this, and remain in touch with Cal Mac to see if a solution can be found urgently.

“With fresh food and vegetables beginning to run out at the shops in Barra, and difficulties for the fishing industry to get produce to the mainland, this is not a situation which people in the island can be asked to tolerate much longer.

“I hope that a solution can now be found to alleviate this situation.”

A Cal Mac spokesman said: “We have investigated the possibility of switching a vessel from another route but the (weather) conditions are such that it would not make any difference.

“We do however have a solution which will allow us to provide a service tomorrow.”

He added: “We regret any inconvenience but must make the safety of our passengers, crew and vessel a priority.

“The reshuffle of the fleet to accommodate the winter refit period is always a challenge but we do everything we can to maintain a full service with the resources available.”

The MV Isle of Arran is stuck in Oban and out of position for Saturday so her runs will operate in reverse.

She will depart Oban at 6.30am and leave Castlebay at 4pm.

In addition, the MV Lord of the Isles (Loti) will also operate an amended timetable with the Mallaig - Lochboisdale service diverting to Oban and including a stop at Castlebay on the way back.

The Loti will depart Lochboisdale for Oban at 6am. A half hour turnaround will see her heading off at 11.40am to arrive Castlebay at 4.50pm. Giving ten minutes to off-load vehicles, the vessel will then depart for Lochboisdale.

Barra food supplies stuck on mainland due to bad weather

3 February 2017

Cal Mac is putting two ships on the Barra run tomorrow to ensure a weather-delayed backlog of supplies arrives for the weekend.

Today’s service was cancelled due to heavy seas and strong winds with a sea swell over five metres.

The last ferry from the mainland was on Tuesday while there has been no sailings on the inter-island route since Wednesday due to adverse weather.

The route is currently being served by the MV Isle of Arran while the MV Isle of Lewis is in drydock.

MSP Alasdair Allan has raised the issue with Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf after being contacted by a number of “anxious” people in Barra.