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Questions over Lochboisdale ferry service                   17/11/11

The Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee wants answers why Cal Mac is not utilising its advantage of a “spare” ship to test the viability of a direct Lochboisdale to Mallaig ferry service.

South Uist is competing against other communities who want an improved ferry service. All say Cal Mac boats could now be swopped around since an extra vessel was added to the fleet with the introduction of the new-build MV Finlaggan on the Islay route.

In a letter to the committee, Graham Laidlaw, head of the Scottish Government’s ferry division said though the MV Isle of Arran has no dedicated route she “presently has a key role as a relief vessel within the Clyde and Hebrides ferry network.”

He suggested she may be utilised elsewhere when the aging MV Saturn years old goes.

Mr Laidlaw highlighted that, at 27 years old, the Isle of Arran is “arguably not an ideal long-term option for the establishment of any new ferry service.”

He stressed a new ship would have to be chartered or built to maintain a sustainable regular ferry service for South Uist.

In a written reply, Huw Francis, chief executive of Storas Uibhist, pointed out Cal mac now has extra capacity across the fleet since the new Islay vessel began service. He suggested the Lord of the Isles would be suited for the open Minch run between Lochbisdale and Mallaig.

Mr Francis stated: “Now would be a good time to determine definitively if the Lochboisdale-Mallaig route would perform as projected by CalMac and various consultants, or significantly better as the community believes.

“This could be done now without the need for purchasing a new boat and give the opportunity for Scottish Government to be fully informed on the viability of this route against estimates and projections.

Mr Francis indicated “CalMac is already crewing, berthing and operating the ‘spare’ vessel and the only extra cost of introducing the Lochboisdale-Mallaig route would be any additional fuel used for the operation over and above what is already consumed.

“If the introduction of the Lochboisdale-Mallaig route was linked to the cessation of the Oban-Lochboisdale service from the Oban-Castlebay-Lochboisdale triangular service (leaving the Oban to Castlebay service in place) the reduction in sailing time would contribute 33 hours of saved sailing time a week to the fleet.”

Earlier efforts to establish a direct ferry ended up in a mess when Storas Uibhist strained relationships with Comhairle and Cal Mac.

In 2008, the Scottish Government agreed to a charter arrangement and Storas Uibhist said it would source a suitable vessel. But the landlord failed to nominate one which could operate for any length of time.

The only boat it came up with was the aging MV Claymore - but the 30-year-old ship was not available and unlikely to pass the tougher passenger safety standards certificates. If installed on the route, she risked being withdrawn almost immediately. It’s unclear why the Storas did not pursue the charter option.

Stòras Uibhist also sought an extra £1 million on top of transferring half the estimated £5 million Oban route subsidy from the Scottish Government - a move which was illegal under European rules without a lengthy public tendering process which would have created even more delays.