Ferry capacity reduced for armed forces exercise

Exercise Formidable Shield is currently taking place around the islands.

Caledonian MacBrayne have been accused of “inexcusable” plans which would inflict further damage on the Uist economy deep into the summer season.

The new threat comes from CalMac’s strategy for transporting articulated lorries carrying cabins which are currently being used in the Ministry of Defence exercises to the west of Uist.

Most of the cabins arrived via Lochmaddy. However, CalMac are now insisting using the Lochboisdale-Oban route operated by MV Lord of the Isles, for their return to the mainland and have rejected alternative proposals.

According to South Uist Business Impact Group these plans will mean “an unacceptable ten per cent cut in capacity for South Uist to and from the mainland for the whole of June and July” and in real terms “a 33 per cent cut to retail shops and hospitality businesses as Lochboisdale will only have a daytime ferry arrival/departure on two days of the week instead of three”.

The Group has put forward several alternative options to limit the impact on South Uist but these have been ruled out by CalMac. In particular, they have argued for use of Mallaig, which would allow for two sailings a day, or – if low bridges rule that out – to use the nearby port of Armadale on Skye which is capable of taking the MV Lord of the Isles.

In a last-ditch appeal to CalMac, the Group said: “Please reconsider your options. A deliberate and avoidable cut in service for most of the peak summer season is inexcusable”.

Particular anger has been caused by CalMac’s response to the Armadale option which states: “The route has had significant disruption and as such we are working to ensure we can provide as much capacity as is possible” on the short crossing between Skye and Mallaig.

In response, John Daniel Peteranna of SUBIG wrote: “Skye has a bridge – the disruption resulting from running a reduced service between Armadale and Mallaig is nothing in comparison to that which we have suffered.

“Without a ferry we have no alternative. Skye does – its bridge. Your route prioritisation process explicitly states that routes

...where a land connection exists will take lower priority than routes to islands with no bridge or road (hence you have not run the Campbelltown service for two years now)”.

He adds: “Given the past six months of severely reduced capacity, down to just 45 passengers, and even that limited capacity was at times shared with Barra, the last thing Uist needs is a 33 per cent cut to local businesses, potentially forcing some to remain closed all summer, if they survive at all, combined with a ten per cent overall cut to mainland carrying capacity.

“We urge you to reconsider your plans in the light of these suggestions and the impacts we have highlighted”.

The latest hammer blow comes just weeks after a “crisis summit” in South Uist.

A CalMac spokeswoman said: “We are asked to support the Ministry of Defence every couple of years with the transportation of important equipment from South Uist to the mainland. As this involves a significant number of vehicles, this must be carefully planned to ensure the least amount of impact on services.

“CalMac are currently working with a local haulier to support the return of the equipment via Oban, which will mean 16 sailings over a two-month period would be Lochboisdale to Oban, with South Uist retaining 56 sailings over that period on the Lochboisdale to Mallaig route. This means the over that period, each Monday and Wednesday would see a Lochboisdale to Oban sailing.

“We are engaging with the haulier and several local stakeholders to find the best solution.”