Port Authority plans “bespoke solution”
The Stornoway Port Authority is planning a completely new and bespoke installation for passengers boarding and leaving the MV Loch Seaforth having concluded that the existing system is “beyond economic repair”.
For more than two years, passengers have exited at Stornoway via the vehicle deck leading to frustrations over waiting times and difficulties for people with mobility issues. Efforts to resolve the problem through the Spanish suppliers, Adelte, proved unsuccessful.
The Port Authority has faced criticism for the time taken to resolve the matter or to provide updates on progress. However, the Authority was limited in what it could say due to ongoing efforts to find a solution through Adelte and potential actions over liability.
This week, port chief executive Alex Macleod told the Gazette that they hope to go out to tender for a completely new system “within the next few weeks” while planning consent and building warrants are also applied for.
Mr Macleod said that complex discussions about engineering and design of the structure have been going on for some time. The SPA board has concluded that the existing system has suffered “catastrophic structural failure” and is “beyond economic repair”.
He said there are “ongoing legal and commercial discussions” which continue to limit what can be said. Adelte installed the systems at both Stornoway and Ullapool in 2014 with a design life of 15 years, with funding support from the Scottish Government.
Mr Macleod said: “The ability to proceed with the new structure will depend on the availability of capital funding”.
The Port Authority feels that it has been unfairly landed with the problem because arrangements for passengers to board and leave a vessel are the responsibility of ferry operators. At some previous point in time, the Port Authority was persuaded to accept what turned out to be a significant liability.
Mr Macleod said that the challenges of finding a solution include the height of the Loch Seaforth passenger door which is seven metres above the quayside at high tide. “That’s a lot higher than any other vessel in the CalMac fleet” and experts advised them that it requires a bespoke structure.
He was confident that the design they are now recommending will provide “a robust solution and a lot of resilience”.
In response to criticisms that cruise ship passengers coming to the island do not face the same problems of egress, Mr Macleod pointed out that “the cruise ships have doors at a variety of decks whereas the Loch Seaforth has only one door”.
Mr Macleod also dismissed concerns about the safety of temporary arrangements, describing them as “entirely unfounded” and “alarmist”.
He pointed out that passengers exiting via the vehicle deck of the ferry is by no means uncommon and is managed by CalMac with passenger safety as the highest priority.