Residents of South Uist and the wider Western Isles are super frustrated about the ferry services, man. They keep getting canceled, leading to big economic problems and making people feel like nobody cares about them.
There’s this business group on South Uist that got all fired up about how CalMac, the state-owned ferry operator, deals with lifeline ferry breakdowns. They wanted to see some changes, man. But even after a review, things are still not looking good. The group is feeling the pinch of cuts and it’s not cool.
South Uist has been taking a beating because there aren’t enough boats on the lifeline ferry routes. They’ve been stuck with this old-timer, the MV Isle of Mull, which can only carry 45 people since the beginning of the year. The usual ship, MV Lord of the Isles, has been busy elsewhere.
The folks on South Uist have been hit hard by all these cuts and breakdowns. They lost their ferry service for almost the whole month of June 2023. Can you imagine being stranded like that?
The residents are feeling abandoned and ignored, man. They’ve had enough of all these cancellations over the years. And to top it off, in June 2023, the MV Lord of the Isles was rerouted, leaving South Uist without direct sailings to the mainland for nearly the entire month. It’s a mess, dude.
The disruptions have been causing businesses to lose money and people are even thinking about moving away. It’s a tough situation all around.
The main problem here is that the ferry fleet is getting old, man. CalMac hasn’t been investing in new boats, so the services keep getting messed up. They’re trying to make do with what they have, but it’s not working out too well.
Some of these boats have been sailing well past their retirement age, like the Isle of Cumbrae at 44 years old. The MV Lord of the Isles, which serves South Uist, is over 30 years old and has been breaking down left and right. It’s a real headache, dude.
All these disruptions are hitting the local economy hard. Businesses that rely on tourism and ferry traffic are losing big bucks when the services get canceled. It’s a rough time for everyone involved.
The Scottish Government has promised to shell out £580 million over five years to improve the ferry services. They’re looking to get some new boats in the water, like the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa. But there have been delays in getting these new ferries up and running, man.
The Glen Sannox finally started sailing in early 2025, with the Glen Rosa hopefully coming by September 2025. But who knows if that will actually happen on time? They’re also planning to bring in new ferries like the MV Isle of Islay and MV Loch Indaal to make the service more reliable.
They’ve even awarded a contract to build seven new electric battery-powered vessels for smaller routes. It’s all in the works, but who knows when it will actually happen?
CalMac gets subsidies from Transport Scotland to cover the costs of running the ferries. The current £975 million contract is set to expire in September 2024. Passengers pay fares to ride the ferries, but that only covers part of the operating costs.
The subsidies are necessary because some of these ferry routes just don’t make enough money to stay afloat. They keep the island communities connected to the mainland, supporting the local economies and essential services.
Last year, it was announced that ferry fares would go up by 10% to keep the ferries running in the future. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s necessary to keep things going.
The Scottish Government foots the bill for new ferries through Transport Scotland. They provide the capital funding for the new boats through Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, a state-owned company. There have been some issues with procurement and project management, so they’re working on improving the process.
It’s a tough situation all around, man. The people of South Uist and the Western Isles just want to see some improvements in the ferry services. Let’s hope things start looking up soon.
