Skipper is suspended after CalMac ferry almost runs aground

Published on Wednesday 21 October 2009 21:56

A FERRY captain has been suspended after his vessel had a near miss and nearly grounded with 15 passengers on board.

A passenger on Caledonian MacBrayne's 11am sailing from Oban to Lismore on Saturday raised the alarm after realising the MV Eigg had gone way off course.

A man who was on board the vessel, who did not wish to be named, said: "The boat just went off course. Nobody really noticed until the boat was on the opposite shore to Lismore, just down from Benderloch.

"We were sitting in the car when we realised we were getting close to the shore and something was wrong. We weren't really worried until we realised how close we were.

"It got to about 40ft from the shore, and was close to being grounded. Another woman, who travels on the boat regularly, noticed we were off course and she notified the crew.

"She went into the ticket office to get a crew member and they ran up the ladder to the wheelhouse. The boat then stopped and did a three-point turn and headed across to where it should have been."

The man said: "We never got any explanation about what happened."

CalMac has launched an investigation to determine why the boat went off course. The captain, James MacLean, of North Connel, near Oban, has been suspended pending the outcome.

Investigators, who have been looking into the matter since Saturday, will be trying to determine exactly what Mr MacLean was doing when the ferry went off course.

A CalMac spokesman said there were 15 passengers and three crew on board the vessel at the time and added: "We can confirm that the MV Eigg had a near miss on Saturday while sailing to Lismore, but that the skipper took the necessary action and that the vessel and passengers were unharmed. A full investigation is under way."

Mr MacLean was given a breath test, which is routine in the circumstances, which came back negative.

A close friend, who spoke to Mr MacLean after the incident, said the skipper did not want to comment until the CalMac investigation was completed.

But the friend, who did not want to be named, said: "I asked him what happened and he said he was looking at charts. They have to chart their course for the ship logbooks.

"At the end of the day, he took the action that stopped anything bad happening."

The friend added: "He is one of the most respected skippers in the industry, very attentive and very thorough. He is a very trustworthy chap. He comes from a very well-respected seafaring family. His father is a skipper as well."

Mr MacLean could not be contacted yesterday.