Cal Mac admits poor freight ferry service 20/1/12
The failure of the Stornoway freight ferry Muirneag to venture out of port only a third of the time over the past month has angered hauliers.
About eight runs have been cancelled after she was dogged by engine problems since returning from an extended refit in Poland last month.
High winds which affects her manoeuvrability in docking caused her to remain tied up some 14 times.
She was timetabled for about 34 return trips over the period.
Lorries were still shipped across the Minch with the MV Isle of Arran called into action. The MV Isle of Lewis also carried out a number of extra overnight runs to cover.
With relief ships covering for some of the time, the disruption was not as bad as rumoured though some shellfish exporters missed vital mainland connections to continental markets on occasions.
Affected transport firms praise Cal Mac’s office staff who work hard to arrange alternative bookings. The hauliers are focusing their complaint at the unreliability of the service.
Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan has taken up their cause with Cal Mac.
Alasdair Allan commented: “Since MV Muirneag’s refit in November a number of companies have raised with me the issue of frequent cancellations to the freight ferry service between Stornoway and Ullapool.
“While some of these have been weather related many others have been due to mechanical failures. I think everyone now realises that a new vessel is needed for this route as soon as possible, and meantime it is vital that assurances are given that MV Muirneag is going to operate more reliably.
“Clearly the crew of the vessel have been working hard to keep this service going but it is understandable why many people are anxious that the situation improves. This is a point I have raised in my most recent response to the draft Ferries Review.
“I have also written to Cal Mac to ask whether they can respond to these concerns in light of the importance of a reliable freight service to the island economy.”
The ferry operator admits hauliers are not receiving a good service from the Muirneag recently.
A CalMac spokesman said: "The MV Muirneag has operated on this service for ten years, and has a good record for technical reliability, but we do acknowledge that her reliability since returning from refit has fallen short of our and customers' expectations.
“We cannot do anything about the exceptionally bad weather over that period, which caused severe disruption across the network on occasions, but have made our concerns about her recent technical difficulties known to her owners.
"We have been working very closely with hauliers to get goods off the islands, especially those that are time critical, either via the MV Isle of Lewis or the MV Isle of Arran when the Muirneag has been unable to sail, and to the best of our knowledge nothing has been left behind. We do however apologise for any inconvenience caused."
The MV Muirneag is not owned or crewed by Cal Mac but is charted from Harrison Clyde,
and managed by V Ships, until 2013, on behalf of the state-
Her recent drydock in Poland was required to keep her within safety requirements to continue regular freight sailings until she is taken off the Ullapool to Stornoway crossing in two years.
She has an unfair reputation of not being suited for rough weather crossings because she rarely ventures out in high winds or heavy seas.
However, the real reason is because of her extremely poor manoeuvrability when berthing
in port -
Though the ship is seaworthy in the open water she was never designed to carry such light loads as on her current run. The lack of heavier cargo lifts her bottom up and affects her ability to negotiate close quarters navigation and risks her crashing into the pier.
In the future, a single, 25% larger, vessel would replace both the Muirneag and the Isle of Lewis on the route.
The new £49 million ship could constantly run across the Minch operating a three sailing weekday 24/7 schedule. A fourth sailing could be rostered at busy peak periods during the summer. She would be certified for 600 passengers.