A Scottish Government taskforce which sorted out the delays over a £70 million investment in a modern, upgraded ferry service has stood down.
After a year of hold-
Finding solutions to the series of delays to allow the new-
The 116-
Scottish transport minister Derek Mackay was forced to step in to speed up the improvements and get the ferry operating as originally planned.
Finally, the last piece of the jigsaw has slotted into place with the end-
The Stornoway-
Derek Mackay said: “I’m very pleased that we can now bring this taskforce to a close, as it means we have achieved what we set out to do.
“The completion of the harbour works at Ullapool is the final milestone for the group, and all members can now focus on providing a first class service for passengers. I want to see the momentum that the taskforce brought to be carried on by all stakeholders.
“We now have a larger, purpose built vessel and two substantially upgraded harbours to better serve the communities on both sides of the route.
“Everyone on this taskforce has worked incredibly hard to get the project back on track and deliver it in full, whilst keeping disruption to a minimum. I would like to thank all members for their efforts since the formation of the group in January.
“This has been an excellent example of partnership working between a number of organisations and I believe we can use this approach as a blueprint for similar projects in the future.”
Angus Campbell, leader of Western Isles Council said: “The establishment of the ministerial taskforce was very much welcomed and should be highlighted as an area of good practice demonstrating excellent collaboration and engagement.
“The momentum associated with the taskforce and its associated stakeholder groups must not be allowed to diminish in terms of other Western Isles ferry issues.”
For the last month, Ca lMac was forced to run a diverted service -
The ferry operator had a contingency plan ready in case the ship was not in service by this week.
The Scottish Government has invested £42 million to build the new MV Loch Seaforth, £17 million in infrastructure works at Ullapool and nearly £10 million for ferry pier upgrades at Stornoway Harbour.
The Loch Seaforth is designed to have a capacity for up to 700 passengers and 143 cars or 20 commercial vehicles.
Never ending delays hit the Loch Seaforth service from the start.
Construction work ran behind schedule while she was still on the stocks after a gale hit the Flensburger shipyard in Germany, ripping off the roof of the ship building hall.
Her hull was not launched until March 2014, a month later than planned.
Problems with her propeller hubs required an unfinished Loch Seaforth to sail to Denmark for modifications.
Back in the German shipyard, slow progress in fitting out the ship’s accommodation block held up the timetable.
A delay in the installation of electrical services throughout the vessel hampered other trades and services.
The unfinished ferry ended up stuck in the middle of a shipyard bankruptcy threat when its builders teetered on the brink of financial collapse.
Negotiations resulted in a lump sum being paid to transfer ownership to Scotland.
A redeveloped passenger terminal building plus pier upgrades at Ullapool were ready
on time but a belated decision to upgrade the port’s end-
Stornoway Port Authority delays in awarding a contract to strengthen the ferry pier, the failure to complete the works within the initial target period saw the Loch Seaforth waiting on the Clyde after she eventually left Germany in November.
A fatal road crash on the European mainland delayed the supply of vital materials and an accident injuring two workers set back the Stornoway upgrade even further.
The Loch Seaforth is owned by Lloyd’s Banking Group, leased to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and operated by CalMac Ferries.
CMAL is the Scottish Government company which owns the ships which provide ferry services to the Western Isles.
Ferry taskforce dissolved after ship finally starts full service
23 May 2015