Fears the island of Lewis will end up with a worse ferry service despite the building of the new, bigger £42 million ship for the Stornoway to Ullapool route has sparked demands for an urgent summit over the issue.
The MV Loch Seaforth is due to replace the present two ferries -
But ongoing delays to upgrade piers at both destination ports means the Loch Seaforth will not be fully working on the route until the summer.
Alternative ferries are being diverted to Skye -
A bigger worry for island businesses is that, from now on, peak sailings are set to be cut long term, meaning Lewis may only get three sailings a day instead of four during the very busy summer period.
Hauliers want to retain a dedicated freight ship on the busy route They are concerned th island may be cut off if the Loch Seaforth breaks down.
They say two ferries are required on the run to keep pace with the local economy.
Island business leaders want transport minister Derek Mackay to come to the islands for an emergency summit on ferry services.
In a joint statement, the David Wood of Woody's Express Parcels and DR Macleod of DR Macleod Ltd said: "There is an urgent need for the Scottish Government and Caledonian MacBrayne to give us and the wider community answers to questions we've been asking for years.
“We and many others made the case for a two-
“We also share the concerns of our colleagues in the tourism industry that the unacceptable delay (in introducing the Loch Seaforth) is already impacting the islands' economy.
They continued: “Sadly, we are now seeing close to sixty million pounds being spent with little or no prospect of seeing the same positive economic impact over the next 20 years.
“We fear the new arrangements will stifle and not aid economic development.
“We need an urgent and written assurance from the Scottish Government as to what contingency is in place should the Loch Seaforth break down.”
Ferry operator Cal Mac previously said its own “audited figures show that the pinch points are focused on peak sailings at the height of the season, and that there is ample capacity at other times.
“In addition the new ship is larger and there is scope for switching some traffic to the overnight sailings, so we are confident that we can cope with the expected demand.”
Hauliers back ferry summit call
18 January 2015