Fears over new ferry “under-utilisation”

Both HITRANS and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar have made strong representations for a summer timetable which offers three returns daily on each route once two new vessels currently being built in Turkey come into service.

The two routes were supposed to be served by a new vessel since 2018 but got caught up in the Ferguson shipyard debacle. Revised plans will separate the routes during the summer months but there are now fears, particularly in Uist, that the opportunities this opens up will be lost under current CalMac and Transport Scotland proposals.

There is also disappointment with the intention to revert to route-sharing served by a single vessel outwith the summer timetable. Comairle nan Eilean Siar say that this “underutilisation of MV LochMor and MV Claymore in the winter months, as proposed, has little rational basis in operational terms” and would have harmful economic impacts.

Neither of the new vessels is now expected until well into 2026 but the timetable consultation has drawn a strong response. North Uist councillor Uisdean Robertson, who chairs both HITRANS and the Comhairle’s transportation committee, said this week: “There has to be some ambition. We have suffered a lot for the past eight or nine years and now there is the chance to create something better for the future.

“There has been a huge feedback, particularly from businesses and accommodation providers but also from people who simply want more flexibility to get on and off the islands. If we do not get this at the outset, it will be very difficult to reverse it subsequently”.

The HITRANS submission states: “We understand that the cost of the two new vessels for the Little Minch services will be £115 million, which has been accompanied by major investment in the piers at Uig, Tarbert and Lochmaddy.

“Operating only two sailings per day would represent poor utilisation of critical and expensive infrastructure. A frequency of three sailings per day would be in line with what is provided on, for example, the Ullapool-Stornoway route. It can be seen as an essential step towards unlocking the full economic potential of the areas served”.

The submission questions the data used by CalMac on which to base its plans for two return crossings a day, by claiming that this will represent a 42 per cent increase in capacity. HITRANS call for “a clear and transparent explanation … that would provide confidence in the information CalMac has presented”.

A “three sailings timetable”, says HITRANS, “would help to tap into the great potential of the estimated one million visitor market in Skye. It would generate day trips from Skye and encourage more visitors to Skye to travel onwards to stay overnight in either Harris or Uist”.

The submission continues: “The additional sailings under the three sailings timetable will improve residents’ ability to get off the island at short notice. This issue is seen as key to attracting/retaining young people. It could also attract other residents who would work in Uist if there was sufficient ferry capacity to get off the island as and when required”.

It points out that “unlike the Tarbert service” freight is a key component of traffic on the Lochmaddy route, adding: “The Lochmaddy sailing is the first leg in a transport chain that delivers shellfish and seafood across Europe”.

In its submission, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar state: “CalMac have produced figures for forecast utilisation of the vehicle deckspace for both vessels but we do not know how these have been calculated. The presentation of the data is unclear and may suggest that the volume of traffic forecast for the three sailings timetable is the same as that which would be carried under the two sailings timetable.

“Also, over the next few years SSEN are to make major investments in electricity generation and distribution across the Outer Hebrides and support the development of renewable energy investment of over £8 billion in the Western Isles between 2025 and 2040. Further information is awaited on the potential facilitating role that the Uig-Tarbert service may have … involving a year-round increase in travel demand to the islands.

“Reducing ferry capacity during the winter period, when the demand will be sustained, would undermine these plans and hinder the economic potential of the islands...

"Additionally, the proposed reduction fails to recognise the enhanced resilience available to CalMac Ferries, as a spare Major Vessel (MV Finlaggan) will be available year-round under the current deployment plans”.