Scottish island 'appalled' at extra ferry losses as busy tourist season looms

Community leaders on a Scottish island are “appalled” their lifeline ferry service to the mainland will continue to run just three days a week as the holiday season looms.

Those living on South Uist have lost their daily Lochboisdale to Mallaig service as the ferry is deployed elsewhere to plug gaps in the CalMac fleet and are now sharing a ferry with Barra to get them to the mainland, with the vessel docking in Oban.

Road to the ferry at Lochboisdale, South Uist. | contributed

It has now been announced the arrangement will continue for a month longer than planned, until March 23, with concerns again raised about the impact of a reduced ferry service on business and tourism in Uist.

John Daniel Peteranna, from the South Uist Business Impact Group (SUBIG), claimed South Uist was again being “targeted” by CalMac as the state-owned company responds to challenges and repairs across the network.

READ MORE: ‘Escape the rat race’ - five GPs wanted for new island practice

South Uist lost its ferry service altogether for 17 days in 2022, with sailings severely disrupted in summer 2023, when the Mallaig crossing was cancelled for almost the entire month of June.

Mr Peteranna said Uist was suffering from “reputational damage”, with the loss of service having a “long-term effect” on both business investment and tourism.

In a direct letter to First Minister John Swinney, Mr Peteranna said: "South Uist Business Impact Group (SUBIG) is appalled that yet again South Uist has been targeted for the greatest reduction in, and disruption to, ferry service at the hands of Scottish Government-owned CalMac.”

Crossings from Uist to the mainland are down to three days a week. Someone leaving for Oban on Monday morning would not be able to return to Lochboisdale until Wednesday lunchtime.

The ferry, the MV Isle of Mull, can take just 45 passengers at present compared to the usual 900, given a fault in its evacuation system.

John Devlin/The Scotsman

Mr Peteranna said: "We are now looking at a significant reduction in service to the mainland going into the busy tourist season, a vital time for the island’s economy, with a ship running just once a day to a port 86 miles from our usual mainland port, capable of carrying just 45 passengers. “

CalMac said the MV Isle of Mull had enough capacity to meet demand, with figures showing it was fully booked for foot passengers on only one day between February 19 and March 1.

Mr Peteranna said research had found that during the 17-day loss of service in May 2022, each business in South Uist lost an average of £4,000. He urged Mr Swinney not to “forget” Uist and invited the First Minister to visit the island to get a sense of the impact on businesses.

“Island businesses only want an opportunity to succeed and cannot do so with one arm tied behind their backs,” Mr Peteranna said. “Well-maintained transport infrastructure is the lifeblood of any economy, yet your Government is denying this to communities of Uist.”

Duncan Mackison, CalMac’s chief executive, said: “We are dealing with an exceptional set of circumstances here. Challenges with several vessels in the fleet have converged at the same time, creating a significant capacity issue, which leaves us with difficult choices to make in terms of service provision.”

Mr Mackison said around one third of major vessels were unavailable or carrying restrictions. He said: “Despite this, we are maintaining core services to all island communities.

The CalMac boss said the shared service to Barra and Uist was “far from ideal”, but added it was the only option available to meet demand across the network. Passenger numbers will be monitored and a more effective timetable is being considered, he said.