Anger in Uist and Arran at wider ferry disruption
- Published
Islanders on Arran and Uist have raised concerns about the level of disruption to their ferries
Islanders have expressed anger over wider disruption to ferry services across CalMac's west coast network.
Communities in Uist in the Western Isles have been left with no dedicated link to the mainland after the temporary loss of its two ferries.
To provide a service, CalMac has had to move ferries from their usual routes to Islay and to Arran.
Sheila Gilmore, of VisitArran, said when one service was disrupted there was a knock-on effect on other routes.
CalMac has apologised for the significant disruption to services.
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said the ferry operator was taking a range of measures to support island communities.
Uist currently is without its two routes to the mainland.
South Uist's boat, MV Lord of the Isles, was withdrawn from service on Tuesday for essential repairs to its firefighting system and then, on Wednesday night, North Uist's MV Hebrides was damaged after it struck a pier.
The loss of MV Hebrides has meant all services on the Skye Triangle - sailings between Uig on Skye, Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist - were cancelled on Thursday and again on Friday.
Following a temporary repair to its hull, the MV Hebrides has gone to a yard in Greenock for a full assessment of what needs to be done to get it back into service.
The MV Hebrides hit a pier at Lochmaddy, North Uist, on Wednesday night
There are options to getting to and from Uist and the mainland, but these involve longer journeys and multiple ferry crossings.
Meantime, CalMac said it was taking a range of actions to protect lifeline services, including:
One of Arran's two ferries - MV Isle of Arran - being redeployed from the Ardrossan-Brodick-Campbeltown route to cover Argyll and Bute's Kennacraig-Islay service, with MV Hebridean Isles moving from Islay to cover the Skye Triangle.
MV Loch Bhrusda operating additional sailings on the Western Isles' Barra-Eriskay route. This crossing plays a part in providing a link between the Western Isles and the mainland.
MV Loch Linnhe acting as a second vessel on the Lochranza-Claonaig route to support services to and from Arran.
Additional capacity on the Ullapool-Stornoway route on Friday and Sunday nights.
But islanders said this was just the latest in problems that had affected their ferry services for many years.
Dr Rupert Marshall, who runs a bed and breakfast in Lochboisdale on South Uist, said within a couple of hours this week he had lost the equivalent of a month's mortgage in cancelled bookings.
He said other businesses were losing out and there had been no food deliveries to Uist for a few days.
Dr Marshall told BBC radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "It is really just hopeless. We have lost our ferry for four months over the last 12 months.
"The question is not which island is losing out the most, because all islands are suffering, it's why are islanders worth less to the Scottish government than mainlanders?"
He said if the A9, a trunk road link between the Highlands and central Scotland, was closed for a week every effort would be made to reopen it.
Steven Macdonald, a courier driver who also runs his own business on North Uist, said the disruption affected personal as well as work life.
He said his planned trip to take his father to this weekend's Scottish Cup final in Glasgow had involved two ferry cancellations, before he was able to book another ferry.
Mr Macdonald added: "The nature of my job as a courier means I rely really heavily on the ferries to make sure that locals as well as businesses get their orders - whether it is personal parcels or groceries getting staple foods like milk."
The MV Lord of the Isles was withdrawn from its Uist route earlier this week
Ms Gilmore, of VisitArran, said: "It is like a domino effect for everybody - but please remember the islands are open, we do have ferry services. People seem to think if we lose a ferry we don't have a ferry service - we do."
Ms Gilmore said there was frustration over a lack of contingency plans, and also that islanders' suggestions on how to improve services - such as employing additional crew so ferries could operate for longer - had not been adopted.
CalMac said it was committed to supporting island communities.
A spokeswoman said: "Our immediate priority is to ensure lifeline services such as food supplies and urgent medical care can be transported.
"Removing vessels from routes is always a very difficult decision and one we would rather not make, but our options are extremely limited, and this is the only way to protect lifeline services at short notice.
"This redeployment means that all islands will continue to receive a service during this current disruption."
Ms Gilruth said she was in close contact with CalMac and its islands ferry committee.
She said: "Please remember the islands are open for business through all of this."
- Published19 May 2022
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