Ferry Services are not delivering for the Western Isles
People need to get on and off the island – and know how and when to do it. Deliveries to shops, distillery products, people with appointments, tourists whose lifeblood keeps an island industry alive – all need certainty and predictability. Without it, the fabric of island life is torn, businesses can't survive and depopulation becomes the result.
The two-new-ferries solution was of course not CMAL's favoured option. Remember for a moment that in the present confusing set-up, one company CMAL (Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd) builds, designs and owns all the ferries and most of the piers. CalMac then operates the ships they are given. This is a structure designed for muddle and buck passing, and one that allows the Scottish Government overlords to hide.