The call for compensation grows
The near daily updates on which vessel has broken down where and what service is re-routing from which port have made for a confusing time for ferry users, bringing costly delays, missed appointments and empty shelves for island stores, and further damaging Uist’s credibility as a viable holiday destination.
No sooner had the 10-day delayed reopening of Uig pier been announced on March 23rd, when the pier was closed again after a temporary linkspan failed to safely manage vehicles over 10m in length. A day of mayhem ensued, followed by three further days of closure before normal service resumed on the 28th.
That same afternoon, the MV Hebrides set out from the newly reopened pier only to return soon after, when a fire broke out in the engine room. It was the second time that month that the boat had been hauled up for urgent repairs, forcing further cancellations and service changes.
The following day, CalMac announced that delays in the scheduled overhaul programme would result in the suspension of all services in and out of Lochboisdale beyween 5th April and 12th May, effectively shutting down the south end of the island during one of its busiest periods.
Questions are now being asked, not just about the service’s reliability, but about the safety of its ageing vessels.
Commercial customers across the Clyde and Hebrides network are now working collectively to deal with the issues they face and are seeking legal advice on the lifeline service provision.
The group, which includes Benbecula hauliers DJ Buchanan as well as DR Macleods, has written to Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth, saying: “The financial impacts have been and continue to be felt across all island communities on the network, with no confidence that things are going to improve in the next few years”.
Tourism businesses are raising concerns that summer business is now being impacted.
As the Transport Minister arrived to attend a meeting at Cnoc Soillier at the end of March, a single protester made her presence felt outside the building’s gate. Amanda Leveson Gower’s banner put into simple words the impact the failing service is having on Uist life: ‘Every cancelled ferry is killing our islands’.
Amanda runs Langass Lodge in North Uist, and spoke to Am Pàipear about her concerns:
“We used to be known for the beauty of our landscape and wildlife, but when you mention ‘Uist’ now, people just think of our failing ferries. Our reputation is being tarnished and it’s not just summer business at risk, but the total loss of our winter trade.
“The hotel used to be open year round and the regular flow of businesspeople and workers helped keep us going. That trade has dried up as companies don’t want to risk having staff stuck here with the extra costs that brings. So now we have to close over the winter and that has radically changed our business.
“Not being able to employ staff year round has made it harder to get local workers, who need more than a seasonal post to keep them going. So we have had to rely on incoming seasonal staff, who of course need accommodation. This has led to us buying two ex Local Authority homes to house our workers, which is costly for us but also takes potential homes away from local people.
“Government has sleepwalked into this situation and we just haven’t made enough noise to stop them. They haven’t listened and here we are – this is what motivated me to protest today.”
With island businesses so badly affected, the call for compensation is growing louder.
Cllr Uisdean Robertson, chair of both the CNES Transport Committee and HITRANS, told Am pàipear: “All too often we are left counting the cost of decision-making that appears to be ill-judged and fails to best address the needs of the communities. The current well-documented difficulties have been part of our lives for several years now. Island businesses deserved compensation similar to what was delivered to Edinburgh businesses disrupted by the work on the Tram Infrastructure. The refusal to do so reflects badly on Scottish Government and must be looked at again.”
To conclude what has been another bad PR month for Transport Scotland, two Auditor reports published last month have strongly criticised both the arrangements to deliver new vessels 801 and 802, and their ever-increasing cost. The first report concluded that: “The people of Scotland have been badly let down by this project… There have been collective failures at government and agency level from the start.” The second added further fuel to the fire, citing the likely £293 million price tag and raising concerns over £87,000 of performance bonus payments to senior Ferguson marine managers during 2021/22.
