Look at how Norway does ferries, Scotland. Not so hard, is it?
The CalMac timetable takes up a full page, with six different schedules. The Norwegian one consists of regular clock-face departures, but if you consult the webpage at busy times it just says "every 15 mins" (sic).
The Norwegian arrangements quite routinely turn round a 245-car ferry in 15 minutes, while CalMac seemingly needs 55 to do the same with a boat half that size. I also counted 15 shore staff at Troon, two in the office and the rest rope-wrestlers and car herders – this for a basic six services per day. NorLed's service can, when pressed, handle up to 1,250 cars and 4,000 passengers per hour, with fewer shoreside staff than CalMac needs at Troon. Vehicle fares are charged by scanning a windscreen Autopass, and pre-booking is not required. All passengers go free.
So how do they do it? Well, Norwegian ferries are specifically designed for the job, and not as small cruise vessels which also can carry cars. They can berth without the need for ropes, and with azimuth thrusters for propulsion have far superior manoeuvring to CalMac's vessels. They also employ bi-directional vessels for crossings of less than an hour's duration, which obviates swinging the ship twice per round trip. Norway's ferries operate on the shortest possible crossing and not on traditional steamer routes. Thirty years ago there was little but rock and the occasional sheep at Mortavika and Arsvaagen, while today they are on a major trunk route (with a whole series of tunnels and bridges).
No CalMac route requires the capacity of the Mortavika one, but we could do with application of the same operating principles. Why this hasn't been done is a central question.
Arthur Blue, South Queensferry.
Read more letters
SNP Reform plan failed
Another cunning SNP plan has bitten the dust. John Swinney appears to have made another in a long line of blunders, stretching back way over a decade. His special – and very expensive – gathering to attempt to have all the non-Reform parties gang up to beat up the new kids on the block has proven to have been an abject failure. Like so many of Mr Swinney's other plans over the years, it had the opposite effect: Reform continues to storm ahead in the polls.
In any case, there was something deeply wrong about his anti-Reform gathering. Should we, in 2025, be holding meetings at taxpayers' expense to gang up on or wound one perfectly legal party the SNP does not like? I am not a supporter of Reform I may add.
Alexander McKay, Edinburgh.
• John Swinney has taken up the unusual position of defending Anas Sarwar in the Hamilton by-election tussle. I should point out that Mr Swinney did not complain when Humza Yousaf delivered a speech, echoed by Anas Sarwar, over the lack of ethnic minorities in high office in Scotland despite this being seen at the time by some as potentially racist. Mr Swinney is complaining now over the "racist" Reform UK advert concerning Anas Sarwar ("Swinney condemns Reform ad on Sarwar as 'racist'", The Herald, May 27). This strongly suggests both the SNP and Labour are running scared of Reform UK.
Could we be about to witness another earthquake in Scottish politics just like Winnie Ewing's 1967 victory in the very same constituency? Lightning can strike twice.
Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow.
Appearance before substance
Another day, another reminder that appearance is more important to our SNP Government than actually delivering improved services.
The BBC reports today (May 27) on Tracey Meechan's situation. With an ovarian cyst, she is unable to work and suffers severe pain. She has been on an "urgent" NHS waiting list for surgery for 100 weeks.
Asked to comment, Women's Health Minister Jenni Minto boasted that, in August 2021, Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish a Women's Health Plan and that "timely access to gynaecology services will be a priority in the next phase of our plan".
I am sure that will be a great comfort to Mrs Meechan as she continues to wait.
George Rennie, Inverness.
Will Falklands be another Chagos?
James Scott (Letters, May 27) describes the Chagos deal as 'decolonisation'. But transferring Chagossian sovereignty to Mauritius over 1,000 miles away – with which the islands have almost no historical, cultural or ethnic links (apart from the UK's administrative convenience in the years of Empire) and disgracefully, without even any proper consultation with the Chagossians, who clearly oppose it in large numbers, maybe by a majority – is by no means decolonisation but constitutes a new colonisation of which one would expect any UK government in 2025 and indeed the UN to robustly disapprove.
Also, to ignore the very credible security concerns of China's current influence in Mauritius, and our paying billions for a partial 99-year lease-back instead of the new owner paying us for the privilege, merely emphasise the literally incredible nature of this deal, which, maybe not surprisingly considering his so-called 'negotiations' with Vladimir Putin, President Trump oddly seems to accept.
The UN and its International Court already wrongly consider the Falkland Islands a colony rather than a settlement as there were no indigenous inhabitants. If, or more likely when, they rule that Argentina is the 'legitimate' owner, will Sir Keir Starmer accept that too?
John Birkett, St Andrews.
We must sanction Israel now
For what passes as the latest example of Trump diplomacy, the American President has branded President Putin as "crazy" ("President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin 'has gone absolutely crazy'", heraldscotland, May 26). Whether this is a genuine "road to Damascus" conversion remains to be seen as given Donald Trump's track record it is highly unlikely that America will apply new sanctions against Russia. What is shameful however is Trump's continued silence over the apocalyptic scenes from Gaza being played out daily on our TV screens. To his credit the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has now slammed Israel's recent Gaza offensive, calling the civilian toll 'no longer justified'. Will this though be enough to at last move the civilised world to take decisive actions to stop the slaughter by the IDF of so many innocent people?
We have the usual pathetic responses from the Israeli government. These though should be exposed as false. Schools and hospitals in Gaza are not being used as headquarters by Hamas; nor, according to the UN relief agencies, is Hamas stealing aid to fund its campaign. Critics of Israel's barbarity are not antisemitic. Nor was the war started by the horrors of October 7. Since its creation in 1948, Israel has been engaged in a hostile campaign of aggression and occupation against the Palestinians. For decades Israel has ignored successive UN resolutions and deliberately refused to take forward the two-state settlement which might have seen peaceful relations between the two neighbouring peoples. Instead, Israel continues to occupy Palestinian land. Palestinian villages and farms continue to be bulldozed to build yet more illegal settlements, often peopled by religious zealots armed to the teeth convinced that the Old Testament gives them the right to evict the Palestinians living there to join the thousands already displaced.
Benjamin Netanyahu with Donald Trump (Image: Getty) It is now absolutely clear that Benjamin Netanyahu has embarked on a campaign to occupy the whole of Gaza and the West Bank, thus forcing the surviving Palestinians out of their own country. It is hard not to believe that this is part of President Trump's nightmarish dream of Gaza becoming a holiday resort for wealthy Americans. This horrible war was never really about self-defence but rather the naked enlargement of the state of Israel. That this crime is being committed in full sight shames the world. Words of condemnation are routinely ignored by Prime Minister Netanyahu and indeed are turned into insults against those prepared to call out the horrors being committed.
Yet this aggression could be quickly halted with the application of global sanctions. Israel should be banned from all international sporting and cultural events. Invitations to participate in international conferences should be withdrawn and critically, the International Criminal Court should now, as in the Balkan War, issue arrest warrants for the political and military leader of the Israeli war machine. The UK Government should immediately halt arms sales and end the supply of military intelligence to Israel. Tragically, though, the merciless slaughter of innocent women and children continues.
Eric Melvin, Edinburgh.
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The National
21 hours ago
- The National
Scotland charts new course with targeted cruise tax plan
Summer in the isles is cruise season. You can't miss it. Last year saw more than 1000 ships and 1.2 million passengers calling into Scottish ports. An increase of almost 50% on pre-pandemic arrivals, big ship arrivals are getting larger and more frequent. Last May, the 6000-passenger MSC Virtuosa became the largest ship to visit Shetland to date, doubling the population of Lerwick overnight. The equivalent of 12 jumbo jets of tourists arriving at once on the harbour wall. It's no wonder it feels like cruising has reached a high-water mark in some ports. Following the Visitor Levy Scotland Act, passed into law last year, a separate cruise ship levy is currently under review. Announced by the Scottish Greens in 2024, it was destined to be about more than just collecting revenue in local ports. READ MORE: Labour has 'given up' on by-election amid SNP-Reform contest, says John Swinney The big, white ships have become a totemic issue for the tourism industry. Travelling under flags of convenience – often under marine diesel power – they have come to represent over-tourism, unaccountability and harmful emissions. That said, in many places, they are also a mainstay for local shops and businesses, making up more than half of total arrivals in some ports. The cases both for and against cruises are as large and complex as the $70 billion global industry. So, when a local cruise tax was floated, it was surprising to see the degree of support from both sides of this introduced, Scotland would be the first part of the UK to have a cruise specific tax. Though there are plenty of overseas ports that have already introduced charges on the grounds of tackling environmental issues and problem tourism. Some destinations like Amsterdam have gone as far as banning future ship arrivals – saying no economic gain can outweigh the 'crowds and emissions'. The city will halve arrivals next year, closing its passenger cruise terminal by 2035. Others have used levies as a source of revenue for regional councils, which see tens of thousands of arrivals each summer and little direct return. Earlier this year, the Orkney Island Council came out in favour of a cruise ship levy. After welcoming a record 160,000 passengers via the cruise terminal in Kirkwall, a levy was seen as a way to address growing tourist numbers and over-stretched budgets. 'A cruise ship levy could allow local authorities to maintain essential services and infrastructure,' said council leader Heather remains a divisive issue, especially in the regions that feel the impacts most keenly – both positive and negative. Cruise taxes, on the other hand, have a far broader appeal. (Image: George Munro) This is not the first time a tax on Scottish tourist ships has been proposed. Cruising got special attention when a 'discretionary visitor levy' was debated in 2019 and ultimately abandoned. The passing of the Visitor Levy Act and the return of cruising to the dock of public opinion are signs of a new momentum behind a specific tax on liners. Given half of the UK's growing two million-passenger cruise industry made a call at a Scottish port last year, the appeal of Scotland as a destination gives local authorities confidence in a levy's viability. However, unlike Edinburgh City cashing in on festival goers or a proposed Highlands B&B bed tax, a ship levy has the potential to be far more impactful. In the face of a poorly conceived charge, cruise operators warn they might weigh anchor and take their business elsewhere. What could a cruise levy look like? Despite the unmistakable shape of a passenger liner, a cruise levy is a difficult thing to define. Cruise ships are big, getting bigger, with vessels growing at a rate of 10,000 gross tonnes per decade. Still, there is huge variance within the growing industry, especially in smaller regional ports around the British Isles. The Scottish cruise levy has been given a very broad scope to account for this. Under the consultation, the current basis to charge vessels would be ships 'carrying paying passengers', on 'a journey involving two or more nights' and that 'give passengers the option to disembark on to the Scottish mainland/islands'. This could apply to anything from a private yacht charter to an 8000-passenger Icon-class cruise liner. The potential abuse of a 'single night cruise loophole' has been raised, allowing bad faith operators to dodge a levy by issuing multiple tickets or running a token ferry service. Given the state of some sea links, this might not be the worst of unintended consequences. The biggest clues as to what a levy might look like are in its objectives. The cruise levy was suggested as an alternative to the Visitor Levy, where a bed tax is not viable. Greens MSP Ross Greer says his party proposed the levy with regional cruise ports in mind. (Image: PA) 'There are areas like Inverclyde, that I represent, which realistically are not going to see a huge benefit from the Visitor Levy because there aren't huge numbers of people staying in hotels on land, but they get thousands of ship passengers passing through every year,' he says. The port of Greenock is set to welcome 80 ships this summer, with the majority of visitors going straight through to Glasgow and the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs on day visits. 'We want to make sure that as many communities as possible are getting the benefit of the huge number of visitors that come to Scotland every year. The Visitor Levy goes a long way to do that. The cruise ship levy is the next part of the puzzle.' Although the consultation has made it clear there are additional goals. Environment is given special consideration, with specific questions on whether a levy can be used to target cruise emissions. A ship running on marine diesel churns out the particulate pollution of around one million cars, according to Germany's NABU union. More modern ships using liquified natural gas LNG, designed to remove most of the more damaging heavy pollutants, still churn out 250g of carbon dioxide per passenger kilometre. Or, the equivalent of every passenger driving the same journey in a family car, one-and-a-half times. 'Cruises come with significant economic benefit but none of that takes away from the fact that cruise ships are just about one of the most environmentally damaging kinds of transport there is,' said Greer. When it was taken forward for development, the Greens hoped that a levy could have a steer on the size and type of ship being used. At the party conference in October, it was proposed that a levy could even be used to encourage a switch to zero emissions vessels in Scotland. So is it a green tax or a tourist tax? ON the face of it, the cruise levy is being formulated for seemingly contradictory goals. It is expected to both discourage ships, while also giving incentive to attract more revenue-earning visits. Cruise operators' main criticisms of a levy is that they are not sure which to prepare for. 'The challenge is that we're not really sure of the purpose of the levy,' says Andy Harmer, managing director of CLIA United Kingdom & Ireland. The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) has been representing ship operators at roundtable discussions during the early consultation process. 'Our planners, cruise itinerary makers, work three or four years in advance from now and that uncertainty isn't particularly helpful,' says Harmer. (Image: Newsquest) Given the timeframe, passengers booking cruises with stops in Scotland may already be subject to a future cruise levy. CLIA members are keen to get clarity as soon as possible. As the largest trade association representing 95% of the world's cruise ships, negotiating levies is now a familiar consideration for CLIA partners. Particularly in Europe. Over the past five years, a wave of cruise-specific tourist taxes have arrived in some of the busiest ports of call, from Barcelona to Dubrovnik. Examples that Scotland is currently looking to. What separates the Scottish cruise levy is the fact that it would grant all local authorities the ability to introduce their own taxes, potentially, at once. The result could be a patchwork of different levies, independent of Holyrood or Westminster. 'I don't want to speak for our cruise lines, who will make their own commercial decisions in this space, but I think our concern is that there are other opportunities. There are other destinations,' says Harmer. 'What we don't want is for Scotland to be seen as an unattractive place to do cruise business.'Cruise Britain, which promotes the destination and monitors cruise arrivals, says a cruise levy could result in some ports seeing more ships tendering for visits, not fewer. 'Scotland is really important to the British cruise story. Around half of all day-call transit guests will step ashore in Scotland, which gives you an idea of how key that experience is,' says director Kay Greenway. As well as an attractive destination in its own right, due to its location Scotland is an important node on the Global cruise network. Receiving shipping from Northern Europe and the Atlantic, almost a third of the global fleet passes through the UK waters in a year. 'A patchwork outcome would really disadvantage some ports against others,' says Greenway. The prospect of locally managed cruise levies are far more difficult for cruise operators to navigate. Clarity and simplicity are the main criteria for the cruise industry. However, there is no mechanism for a top-down, national cruise tax. 'Devolution doesn't allow the Scottish Government to create new national taxes without the Treasury's agreement, so we create new local taxes by necessity,' says Ross Greer, though he doesn't see this as a bad thing. Following the Scottish Visitor Levy, similar legislation has been inspired in the Welsh Sennedd. A final vote on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Bill will take place in Wales this summer. South of the Border, Friends of the Lake District bemoaned being unable to introduce an Edinburgh-style bed tax in Cumbria as there is no legal route to make this happen in England. As with the Visitor Levy, it will be up to each local authority to weigh up the benefits of their own cruise tax. Greer and the Greens say the priority is creating a levy that suits the local authorities rather than the cruise lines. 'By Scotland going first, because of our natural environment and the high number of cruise passengers that we get here, we can set an example for the rest of the UK,' Greer adds. Can a cruise tax encourage greener liners? Scotland isn't the first country to try to introduce a sustainability tax on liners. The results of these, however, have been mixed. A review by the Scottish Government shows that cruise levies see a fairly limited reduction in arrivals. The examples show most cruise ports return to pre-levy arrival levels almost instantly. Since imposing a €7 (£6) a day tariff in 2018, Barcelona's cruise arrivals have grown almost 10% to 2.18 million passengers. At the other end of the spectrum, there have been over-ambitious 'cruising bans' that have had to be rowed back. Norway made waves by announcing it would ban all greenhouse-gas-emitting ships from its Western Fjords from 2026. This was until last year, when it was clear almost no ships were able to meet these strict requirements. Now, ships over 10,000 tonnes have been granted an additional six-year grace period. (Image: Søren Lund Hviid/Alamy) The threat of a ban to the Unesco Heritage Site was enough to spur development of hybrid battery-powered fleets. Homegrown cruise operators Hurtigruten and Havila are currently leaders in hybrid electric-liquid natural gas shipping. Though, in most cases, Norway's aspirational cruise rule was aimed at ships that simply don't exist yet. Similarly, the industry's own climate goals will require a strong tailwind to be achieved and help from the destinations they visit. Following the UN's guidelines, CLIA set the target of meeting net zero cruising by 2050. This April, the UN's IMO put further pressure on cruise ships to meet these pledges, charging $380 per excess tonne of carbon dioxide. Yet in Scotland and the UK, one of the largest obstacles to reducing emissions is the lack of shore power, allowing ships to run off the grid rather than burning fuel in port. 'There is lots of sustainable electricity being generated in Scotland as there is in Norway,' says CLIA's Harmer. 'The difference is, in Europe, they have a mandate to have shoreside power in their key ports by 2030. There is no such mandate in the United Kingdom at the moment.' While Orkney and Aberdeen have the ability to supply power to ferries and some other large ships, the only cruise port in the UK with suitable shoreside power is Southampton. Levies provide an opportunity to invest in infrastructure that will be needed to decarbonise shipping. Something that Harmer says will be much harder to do if the pressure on reducing emissions is put entirely on the liners. CLIA aren't the only ones with suggestions on how revenue from a cruise tax would be best spent. Some environmental groups have suggested proceeds should be ring-fenced to address the impact of shipping on Scottish ports. If it is unlikely to have a major impact on the number of calls, it might as well be used to monitor sustainability goals and compliance. Friends of the Earth, which produces an annual grading of liners' environmental credentials, says they support a cruise levy with environmental goals in Scotland but relying on operators to self-report sustainability goals is a flawed system. The US branch has recorded 16 major violations from CLIA members in the past three decades. Marcie Keever, director of oceans at Friends of the Earth US, says proceeds could be used to fund an independent observer programme 'because this industry has difficulty complying with environmental rules and standards'. Meanwhile, UK-based marine life charity ORCA says, if it is difficult or not desirable for local authorities to curb ship arrivals, there are ways that cruise ships can do good for Scotland's marine ecosystem. 'When it comes to a levy like the one that has been proposed, it certainly makes sense for this to be invested at least in part in protecting and safeguarding the habitats that the tourism sector relies on,' says ORCA director of operationsSteve Jones. The charity has previously partnered with shipping to monitor the health of Scotland's 240 Marine Protected Areas. Having levy-funded observer programmes on cruise ships could help track their impact and ensure best practice around Scotland. Ultimately as local taxes, proposed under the current devolution settlement, it will be up to the local authorities to allocate any funds from a future cruise levy. The cruise levy consultation period runs until May 30, after which the Scottish Government will prepare a summary ahead of any vote to introduce the levy by Scottish ministers.
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow museum plans to loan art for tour in China
Objects which are expected to give an 'exquisite and culturally-rich view' of the visual arts in Italy from 1400 to 1800 could be loaned out to form an exhibition titled 'Prosperous Symphony – Italian Treasures from Glasgow Museums'. The plan is for the first venue, in Shenzhen, to display the items from September this year before they are shown 'in five or six other cities'. They would return to Glasgow in 2028 and could then be displayed in Kelvingrove Museum. The council's city administration committee will be asked to approve the plan on Thursday. 'With a new international strategy, regular trade missions, links between the city's universities, businesses and China and the targeting of a direct air route into the city, the timing to use an exhibition as cultural exchange and the backdrop for other initiatives is now,' a council report states. The report, which is set to be presented by Bailie Annette Christie, SNP, the city convener for culture, sport and international relations, adds the tour will 'leverage more visibility for the city, its businesses, visitor economy, cultural significance and academic institutions'. This could result in 'more awareness of Glasgow in a number of cities across China', it states. Glasgow Life, the council's culture and leisure arm, which Bailie Christie chairs, plans to work with partners across the city to 'take advantage' of the exhibition. The report states Glasgow Airport is targeting a direct China to Glasgow air route to complement two direct flights per week — four in summer — between Edinburgh and Beijing. Ideas to promote the tour include using the University of Glasgow's networks, as it has 9,000 Chinese students as well as alumni who now work in China. Connections through Glasgow's chamber of commerce, which aims to attract inward investment from businesses in Beijing and Shanghai, will also be explored. It is hoped that the exhibition will mean Glasgow contributes to the Scottish Government's drive to 'deepen economic, social and cultural ties with China'. Research by the UK tourist board, VisitBritain, has found Chinese people associate Britain highly with museums, opera and films, the council's report adds. Alongside 33 paintings, the collection includes examples of ceramics, glass, marble sculpture, textile, arms and armour. To promote Glasgow, there would be information about the city within the exhibition. An exhibition of the city's Italian art went on tour to the United States in 2013 and all but one of the paintings and objects have been in storage since. Paintings which were shown in America included Titian's 'Christ and the Adulteress' and Sandro Botticelli's 'The Annunciation', which once hung in the Church of St Barnabas in Florence. A minimum of three tour venues are needed for the exhibition to be economically viable. Glasgow Life would be working with NOMAD Exhibitions on the tour, which has estimated around 100,000 visitors per venue. A three-way agreement with NOMAD and Sun Pavilion Culture and Technology Co, which helps develop exhibitions, would be signed, outlining the responsibilities of each partner. Glasgow Life is expected to receive a fee from each of the host museums in China. In 2023, China was Scotland's fifth largest long-haul international market by number of visits, and fourth by number of nights and expenditure.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
CalMac Glen Sannox's ferry - will it help Arran bounce back?
This is not to declare the decision in the procurement process, led by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, that it should be a dual-fuel ferry capable of operating on marine diesel and liquefied natural gas did not add unnecessary and lamentable complexity. Rather, it is to observe the scale of the vessel, including its capacity, and the passenger experience. The mood on the packed vessel was no doubt helped by the fact that the sailing was on a Saturday at the peak of the recent long sunny spell, arguably a heatwave by Scottish standards. The stillness of the water was a lot more reminiscent of the Greek islands than the west of Scotland, and its colour, while not quite as vivid as the Aegean perhaps, was as impressive as it was uncharacteristic. There were seals swimming close to a buoy as the ferry departed. And the water in the distance at the base of Arran appeared almost white. CalMac's roll and bacon and potato scone was of the usual high standard. Memories of the coffee from the days when I travelled on CalMac ferries regularly when working for The Oban Times were of a large mug of strong black coffee. These days, you can purchase a latte in a takeaway cup featuring CalMac's yellow and red logo. The boat is very well fitted out, and the passenger experience is undoubtedly a good one, comparing it with some very pleasant ferry crossings throughout Europe. It was impossible, even in the relaxed atmosphere and glorious sunshine, not to contemplate briefly the effect on Arran of the Glen Sannox at last being in service. In this context, it is worth bearing in mind that the Glen Sannox is for now sailing between Troon and Brodick. And the Troon experience is quite different for a foot passenger arriving by rail from the arrangements at Ardrossan, where the train station is right next to the ferry terminal. CalMac will be operating the returning Caledonian Isles between Ardrossan and Brodick during its summer timetable, while the Glen Sannox will continue sailing between Troon and Arran. Clearly, residents on Arran have had to get used to a lot of upheaval in recent years, and the island has undoubtedly been hit hard by the unreliability of ferry services as it waited for the Glen Sannox. The Glen Sannox started sailing on the Troon to Brodick route in January (Image: Ian McConnell) Years late too is the Glen Rosa, which is also being built at Ferguson Marine and is now not expected to be in service on the Troon to Arran route until the second quarter of next year. Colin Morrison, finance director and company secretary of Auchrannie Resort, highlighted in an interview with The Herald in January the effect of the lack of reliability of ferry services in recent winters, and crucially also the publicity around this, in making people less confident about visiting. Mr Morrison, noting the new vessel's greater capacity and ability to operate in weather conditions in which the smaller Isle of Arran ferry could not, said then: 'It is good to see it in service. Certainly in the first couple of weeks it has been sailing in winds which would have prevented the Isle of Arran from sailing.' Read more It has been difficult to escape the impression that some politically motivated observers who have delighted in what has become known as Scotland's 'ferry fiasco' might almost have been hoping the arrival of the Glen Sannox on the route would be less smooth than has been the case. That said, minor issues have generated huge headlines. This is perhaps not surprising, given the high profile of the vessel caused in large part by the monumental cost overruns and delays in the building of it as well as the effect of this woe on CalMac services. However, what is surely important now is that Arran recovers from the troubles caused by ferry service disruption in recent years, and that tourism providers and others on the island can benefit from the arrival of the Glen Sannox, and eventually also the Glen Rosa when it turns up. It was interesting to catch up with the management of Auchrannie this week to find out about the resort's experience of the Glen Sannox, now that the vessel has been operating on the Troon to Brodick route for more than four months. And it was good to hear this experience has generally been positive. Auchrannie is obviously a business which relies so much on the CalMac ferry services. It has over the decades worked closely with the ferry operator, including offering packages inclusive of CalMac sailings. Tom Jessop, head of finance at the employee-owned Auchrannie Resort, said this week that 'ferry reliability has improved significantly since Glen Sannox entered service'. He did note that 'the weather since then has also been comparatively favourable'. Mr Jessop revealed that '2025 occupancy and forward bookings at the resort are up 5% on last year'. He added: 'We believe this is due to improved ferry reliability and capacity, better weather conditions, and less negative press coverage, which translates to an increase in customer confidence. With all of that said, signs look good that the Glen Sannox can sail in more challenging conditions than older ferries, and this bodes well for the future.' While there are obviously lessons to be learned from the delays and cost overruns in building the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa, what matters for people and businesses on Arran is what happens from here. In this regard it is most heartening to hear Auchrannie, a major employer on Arran which works closely with other businesses on the island and plays a big part in attracting visitors, express positive sentiments about the experience so far of the Glen Sannox sailing on the route and the outlook.
