The Scottish Conservatives will accuse the SNP of wreaking ‘lasting damage’ on Scotland’s island communities in an opposition debate in parliament, after increasing breakdowns and faults plagued Scotland’s ferry fleet this summer.
The Scottish Conservative debate comes after a fault on the MV Hebridean Isles caused disruption across several ferry routes in July and August – and saw some island shops rationing essentials like milk and bread.
Recent figures show that the number of technical issues across CalMac’s fleet has increased steadily in recent years. While in July, it was revealed that the cost of repairs to CalMac ferries has more than tripled in the last decade, topping £28million in 2021.
Over a third of CalMac’s largest ships are now beyond their 30-year expected operational life, while their oldest large ferry, the MV Isle of Arran, is 39 years old.
The Scottish Conservatives warn that the SNP’s failure to procure a reliable ferry fleet risks permanently damaging island communities, by harming the local economy and contributing to population decline. It is forecast that the Western Isles could see a 20 per cent decline in the working-age population over the next 20 years, with islands in Argyll and Bute also struggling to maintain population levels.
Meanwhile, recent reports have raised concerns that the two replacement ferries at Ferguson Marine, which are already vastly over-budget and years overdue, may never see service as a result of numerous faults.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Transport Minister Graham Simpson said: “The SNP wants to know how to stop population decline on our islands – but it is obvious to everyone that at least part of the problem is their failure to deliver essential transport links for island communities.
“The SNP Government has failed to procure desperately-needed replacement ferries and refused to commit adequate long-term funding for Scotland’s ferry provision.
“As a result, breakdowns and delays have sky-rocketed. Now, island residents can’t even trust in supplies of essentials like bread and milk, and tourism and investment has been decimated.
“Meanwhile the two unfinished ferries in Ferguson Marine may never see service as a result of continued faults, despite costs spiralling to £250 million.
“The Ferguson Marine scandal may appear farcical, but the SNP are wreaking lasting damage on Scotland’s island communities with their incompetence.
“The SNP keep hoping that they can bury their heads in the sand, and wait for this scandal to blow over – all the while island residents suffer the consequences. The Scottish Conservatives are bringing a debate on Wednesday to stand up for these communities, and force the SNP to finally set out a concrete strategy to get a grip of this crisis.”
Notes:
A ferry breakdown led to some island communities rationing their food supplies. A fault on the MV Hebrides, led to routes between Uig on Skye, Lochmaddy on North Uist and Tarbert on Harris being shut down, leading some island shops to ration essentials like milk and bread. (The Herald, 7 August 2022, link).
The number of technical faults has risen steadily since 2017. In 2017, there were 90 technical faults, with 163 technical faults recorded in 2021, an 81% increase. 2020 was the only year where the number of technical faults did not rise, likely due to reduced crossings due to the pandemic. 2021 was the worst year for technical issues on record, with 163 incidents of technical issues being recorded. Furthermore, there have already been 141 technical issues recorded in 2022 as of the end of July. If this rate continues until the end of the year, there will be 242 technical issues in 2022. (Scottish Conservative FOI available on request).
More than £28 million has been spent on repairs to CalMac’s fleet in 2021. According to an FOI from CalMac Ferries Ltd, £28,579,000 was spent on repairs to their fleet in 2021. This is an increase of more than £10million on the previous year, more than triple the sum recorded 10 years previously, and over three and half times that of 2007, (Scottish Conservative FOI available on request).
Over a third of CalMac ferries are over their 30 year expected operational life. 12 of the 35 ships in Calmac’s fleet are over 30 years old, and the average age of CalMac ferries is almost 24 years. Many of the large boats are even older, of the operator’s 10 largest ferries, four are more than 30 years old and the MV Isle of Arran is 39. (BBC, 13 May 2022, link; Caledonian MacBrayne, Accessed 26 September 2022, link; CMAL; Accessed 26 September 2022, link)
It is forecast that the Western Isles could see a 20% decline in the working-age population over the next 20 years, with a similar reduction in the number of children. Islands in Argyll and Bute are also struggling for people, and the National Records of Scotland is forecasting population reductions for all of Scotland's island local authorities over the next 20 years. (The Scotsman, 25 September 2022, link; Japan island depopulation: lessons for Scotland, Scottish Government, 21 September 2022, link).
Island communities have warned that the lack of reliable ferry services is contributing to population decline. Earlier this year, the Ferries Community Board – an organisation set up to communicate islanders' views on the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services – warned that ferry disruption has harmed businesses and put at risk island communities' ability to tackle depopulation. While in June, Joe Reade, chair of the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee, said that the unreliability of the ferry service was ‘deteriorating quality of life’, and that problems with ferry links are causing depopulation as islanders choose to move to the mainland. (BBC News, 16 February 2022, link; The Herald, 28 June 2022, link).
CMAL have raised concerns about whether Hulls 801 and 802 will ever be fit for service due to the high number of faults. The concerns were first noted in CMAL analysis from March. According to the Herald last week, these concerns remain in reports from June and July, as new faults have been identified. Analysis from June says that there remains a serious risk that that if all the faults shown in owner observation reports (OORs) are "not agreed as closed" with CMAL that acceptance of the vessel "will be difficult to achieve". And the risk score remains at 250 – the highest level (The Herald, 15 May 2022, link; The Herald, 1 September 2022, link).