WHEN you live on the Scottish mainland and rarely if ever visit one of the many islands, it can be difficult to appreciate the singular importance of the ferry network to people who rely on it from day to day.
What is evident from recent coverage in The Herald and its sister paper, The Herald on Sunday, it is that the ageing ferry fleet is beset with problems. While most cancellations and delays are down to inclement weather, too many are down to ferries’ technical difficulties. Many port facilities are badly in need of updating, too.
Caledonian MacBrayne’s plans to upgrade its fleet with two new hybrid ferries at a joint cost of £97 million have become mired in delays and a dispute between the Scottish Government-owned Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and the Glasgow firm of Ferguson Marine Engineering. The tit-for-tat between the two groups is unfortunate. Jim McColl, whose Clyde Blowers empire bought the firm out of administration in 2014, says Ferguson Marine is on the verge of taking CMAL to court over what it alleges are design-related delays.
Now CalMac itself has complained that it is receiving less than half of the money it needs to bring Scotland’s lifeline ferry services up to scratch and that it is “straining at the seams” to keep services afloat.
Many island communities are reporting record tourist numbers but are struggling to cope because of ageing ferries and ports facilities.
While all of these complex issues have been decades in the making, it has to be acknowledged that, as ministers remind us, more than £1 billion has been invested in ferry services across the Clyde and Hebrides routes in the last 11 years.
But frustration on the islands is clearly growing. Jamie Green, the West Scotland Conservative MSP, correctly points out that moves to create “regular and reliable” ferry services to our island communities should be “a matter of priority.” The islanders deserve no less.
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