Days-long disruption to Barra's ferries, MSPs told
- Published
An inquiry into ferry procurement has heard of the impact of disrupted sailing to communities on Barra
People in Barra have faced days-long disruption to deliveries of food and medicine due to cancelled ferry sailings, MSPs have heard.
Islander Eoin MacNeil said the problem was caused by a lack of suitable ferries.
He said that recently there had been five occasions when Barra had not had a ferry for five days.
Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne said bad weather had caused "extensive disruption" on many of its routes.
MSPs have been taking evidence as part of an inquiry into the construction and procurement of ferries in Scotland, external.
As part of the inquiry, they are considering the timetable and costs associated with the completion of two new hybrid ferries to serve the Clyde and Hebrides. The vessels are £100m over budget and likely to be three years overdue.
In his evidence, Mr MacNeil, a member of the Caledonian MacBrayne Community Board, told MSPs of Barra's reliance on ferry services.
He described the disruption to sailings this winter as "quite incredible".
Sailings between Barra and Oban have been disrupted
Mr MacNeil said: "This time of year the stores are empty, the shops are empty, the medical supplies are drying up."
He said a local seafood company was also unable to get its product to the mainland.
In a statement, CalMac said the ferry serving Barra had been specifically built to sail west coast waters. The company said bad weather in January had unfortunately caused disruption to sailings across its network.
Managing director Robbie Drummond said: "This has been a frustrating start to the year for us and the communities we support due to weather related cancellations.
"At one point earlier this month every single one of our 28 routes had to be cancelled due to high winds and surging seas making it impossible to sail safely.
"These conditions in some areas lasted days at a time severely restricting our ability to deliver lifeline services."
He said decisions to cancel a sailing due to weather were never taken lightly, adding that many of its ships masters lived in communities affected and knew the consequences of such disruption.