How are ferry problems affecting people on Barra?

Gillian says fruit and veg often has to be thrown out because it takes so long to get to Barra

People in Barra are running out of patience. They say the ferry service to the mainland is unreliable and is threatening the businesses, jobs and day-to-day life of those living on the islands. BBC Scotland's Connor Gillies has been to speak to some of those affected.

You really don't have to go far when you arrive on Barra to hear about problems with the ferries.

Every single person has a story about how bad weather and an ageing, unreliable fleet has led to islanders feeling marooned.

Gillian Hamill works in the local shop, which sells fresh produce to 1,300 people who live on the island, which lies on the southern tip of the Western Isles.

She says the van that brings her grocery goods can sometimes be stuck in Oban for a couple of days because the five-hour ferry to Barra is cancelled due to bad weather or breakdowns.

"That means the fruit and veg can go off and has to be chucked," she says.

"When the van gets here there is not a lot that is saveable. It's quite soul destroying."

The unreliable ferry service is affecting other businesses as well.

Donald Joseph Maclean is the managing director of Barratlantic seafoods

Barratlantic is the largest employer on the Hebridean island. It sends seafood over to the mainland and to France and Spain and it needs to get there quickly to make the best money.

Managing director Donald Joseph Maclean says the company is completely reliant on the ferry operated by state-owned operator CalMac.

He says this year has been the worst it has ever been and they feel totally ignored.

Mr Maclean says it is starting to affect the hours they can offer staff.

"The business won't be here in years to come if they carry on the way they are," he says.

"We feel marooned and ignored because we are not seeing the situation improving."

He accuses CalMac of missing weather windows and failing to travel even when it would be safe to do so.

Padula is the only person to supply gas canisters on the island

Peter "Padula" Nicholson supplies gas canisters to the island's businesses, schools and homes. People rely on him but it is getting harder to supply what they need, he says.

"Seven years ago we could take them in on a daily basis but it is now taking us up to five days to supply the same service," he says.

He hopes the day does not arrive when he just quits. "But it has crossed my mind, definitely," he says.

Guy Adams has lived on the west coast of Barra for 15 years

Guy Adams has lived on the west coast of Barra for 15 years and says he cannot remember the ferry service being so disrupted.

A few weeks ago the 74-year-old was trying to get off the island to get to Inverness to look after his grandchildren but the ferry operator would not take bookings for his family and his car.

The other ferry ports in the Western Isles would not take his booking either.

In the end they had to travel as foot passengers. He says the result of having to hire a car and travel via Glasgow meant it cost him an additional £1,800.

"These things should not happen," he says. "The ships should be newer and more appropriate for the port facilities."

Barra has a population of about 1,300

So how does the problem get resolved?

There is no easy quick fix.

There are two ferries being built for CalMac at the nationalised Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow - one of them is heading for the busy route to and from the Isle of Arran.

CalMac told the BBC the other will be a spare, which will really help create a bit of slack in the system.

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But they were due to be in the water in 2018 so they are severely delayed and hugely over-budget.

To try to fix the problem quicker, CalMac and the Scottish government looked at leasing ferries - but that has not gone too well either.

CalMac boss Robbie Drummond told me there was not a single vessel available anywhere that they could get their hands on to sort the problem.

"Our vessels are supplied by CMAL and they have been on a constant search for the last few years for additional tonnage either to acquire or lease and the sad problem is that these vessels are in extremely short supply because of the nature of our ports which are particularly shallow draft."

The island is served by a daily ferry from Oban

Mr Drummond apologised to the people who had been disrupted by the extreme weather of the past few months but denied they failed to take weather windows.

The Scottish government's new Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth has not been available to answer criticism that it is not doing enough to address the issues of island ferries.

Her office pointed to a statement which said the minister met CalMac recently to try to push for solutions and that the government was investing £580m to sort the saga out.

But on islands like Barra people are losing patience.