Latest news with #MVIsleofLewis
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Yahoo
'Island ferry problems meant my child could not travel'
A mother-of-four says she was forced to travel without all of her children on an island ferry because of reduced passenger numbers. Carol-Anne Galbraith, 33, from Barra, needed to get her son Kieran, five, from the Hebridean island to a hospital appointment in Glasgow. Barra's usual ferry, which carries 600 people, has been replaced with a vessel that is running under a restricted capacity of 45 people. Her eight-year-old son, Christopher, instead made the journey by plane with his grandmother - which the family said brought additional expense. Single mum Carol-Anne wanted to take all her children on the trip during the Easter holidays because of limited childcare options on the island. Ferry operator CalMac said an alternative route had been offered to allow all the children - who were not originally booked - to make the trip to the mainland. But Carol-Anne said this would have involved a 350-mile journey by car, two ferries and taken at least 12 hours. More stories from the Highlands and Islands News from the Highlands and Islands on BBC Sounds Barra's usual 600-passenger ferry, MV Isle of Lewis, has been out of action for two months due to an engine fault. The replacement ferry, MV Isle of Mull, can carry 962 people. But this has been reduced to a just 45 passengers due to a broken emergency escape system. The route connecting Castlebay, Barra, with Oban on the Argyll coast is the longest in CalMac's west coast network. Kieran has eczema and requires monthly visits to a hospital consultant in Glasgow. Carole-Anne said that being unable to rely on the ferry service was "stressful and upsetting". She said: "Originally it was me and Kieran who were booked, but our plans changed so I went to book the other three children. "Due to the reduced capacity I couldn't get them on. "You feel guilty as a mum because you feel you have failed and not been able to take your children away." With help from local CalMac staff, Ms Galbraith was able to get Daniel, six, and Charlotte, 11, on the ferry while Christopher travelled by plane. Brian Currie, of Barra Transport Committee - which campaigns for connectivity improvements - accused CalMac of not meeting contractual obligations. He said: "I think over the last two months CalMac has failed to provide lifeline services to the island. "Services are paid for but are not being delivered." Residents in the Western Isles have raised concerns about the reliability of services over several years. In 2023, hundreds marched through Glasgow to protest against the disruption of South Uist's ferry service. Islanders said they were left "beyond crisis" after CalMac cut sailings from Lochboisdale to Mallaig on the mainland during June. CalMac said it had been in contact with Ms Galbraith about travel arrangements A spokesperson said: "We were able to get another space for Carole-Anne to go to the hospital appointment and she travelled with three of her four children. "There was no risk of the hospital appointment being missed as we always had mother and child booked on the sailing. "All alternatives offered were to allow additional children who had not originally been booked on." Transport Scotland said that under its contract with CalMac it expected essential services to be delivered. A spokesperson said: "We recognise the impact that delays and disruption have regrettably had on our island communities and we are committed to investing in our ferry services. "In the coming year, we will invest over £530m maintaining and enhancing our networks and strengthening resilience of services on the west coast and northern isles." MV Isle of Lewis is due to be back in service in time for the family's return journey. How are ferry problems affecting people on Barra? Island ferry returns after weeks of absence Fire caused CalMac ferry engine failure CalMac
BBC News
31-03-2025
- BBC News
'Ferry problems on Barra meant my child could not travel'
A mother-of-four says she was forced to travel without all of her children on an island ferry because of reduced passenger numbers. Carol-Anne Galbraith, 33, from Barra, needed to get her son Kieran, five, from the Hebridean island to a hospital appointment in usual ferry, which carries 600 people, has been replaced with a vessel that is running under a restricted capacity of 45 eight-year-old son, Christopher, instead made the journey by plane with his grandmother - which the family said brought additional expense. Single mum Carol-Anne wanted to take all her children on the trip during the Easter holidays because of limited childcare options on the operator CalMac said an alternative route had been offered to allow all the children - who were not originally booked - to make the trip to the Carol-Anne said this would have involved a 350-mile journey by car, two ferries and taken at least 12 hours. Barra's usual 600-passenger ferry, MV Isle of Lewis, has been out of action for two months due to an engine replacement ferry, MV Isle of Mull, can carry 962 this has been reduced to a just 45 passengers due to a broken emergency escape route connecting Castlebay, Barra, with Oban on the Argyll coast is the longest in CalMac's west coast network. Kieran has eczema and requires monthly visits to a hospital consultant in Glasgow. Carole-Anne said that being unable to rely on the ferry service was "stressful and upsetting".She said: "Originally it was me and Kieran who were booked, but our plans changed so I went to book the other three children."Due to the reduced capacity I couldn't get them on."You feel guilty as a mum because you feel you have failed and not been able to take your children away."With help from local CalMac staff, Ms Galbraith was able to get Daniel, six, and Charlotte, 11, on the ferry while Christopher travelled by plane. Brian Currie, of Barra Transport Committee - which campaigns for connectivity improvements - accused CalMac of not meeting contractual said: "I think over the last two months CalMac has failed to provide lifeline services to the island."Services are paid for but are not being delivered."Residents in the Western Isles have raised concerns about the reliability of services over several 2023, hundreds marched through Glasgow to protest against the disruption of South Uist's ferry said they were left "beyond crisis" after CalMac cut sailings from Lochboisdale to Mallaig on the mainland during June. 'Offered alternatives' CalMac said it had been in contact with Ms Galbraith about travel arrangementsA spokesperson said: "We were able to get another space for Carole-Anne to go to the hospital appointment and she travelled with three of her four children. "There was no risk of the hospital appointment being missed as we always had mother and child booked on the sailing."All alternatives offered were to allow additional children who had not originally been booked on."Transport Scotland said that under its contract with CalMac it expected essential services to be delivered. A spokesperson said: "We recognise the impact that delays and disruption have regrettably had on our island communities and we are committed to investing in our ferry services. "In the coming year, we will invest over £530m maintaining and enhancing our networks and strengthening resilience of services on the west coast and northern isles."MV Isle of Lewis is due to be back in service in time for the family's return journey.
BBC News
26-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
CalMac reshuffles fleet after 'exceptional' problems
Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has rejigged services and vessel deployment plans as it grapples with an "exceptional" series of problems with its fleet. Delays in repairs and new issues identified during annual maintenance mean the west coast operator is facing a shortage of ships. Chief executive Duncan Mackison said a third of its large vessels were currently out of action or operating with reduced capacity. The charter of the privately-owned catamaran Alfred - said to cost £1m a month - has now been extended to the end of May to maintain services, while the summer-only Ardrossan-Campbelltown service remains suspended for another year. MV Caledonian Isles, which operates on the Arran route has been out of action since last February with a series of issues including rust and twisted frames. The ship was due back next month, but this has been pushed back, possibly to late April, after new issues were found with the tubes for its propeller shafts. MV Isle of Lewis, which operates to Barra, needs steelwork replaced during annual maintenance, and will not return to service until Sunday 23 March, almost a month later than expected. MV Clansman has also been slightly delayed in overhaul, while MV Isle of Mull is restricted to just 45 is due to problems with its emergency evacuation systems, which will not be fixed until mid May at the earliest. Mr Mackison said the publicly-owned firm was "dealing with an exceptional set of circumstances"."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," he added. "Given the age of our fleet and the need to overhaul all vessels outside of the busy summer season, our vessels are spending a record amount of time in overhaul this winter. "This stretches our services and, when unplanned delays such as those we're experiencing with MV Isle of Lewis and MV Clansman are factored in, our resources to the limit" The lack of vessels means a Troon-only service to Arran will continue - using the new ferry Glen Sannox and catamaran Alfred - and the more frequent services from Ardrossan will not resume until Caledonian Isles returns in April.A shared service for Barra and South Uist has been Mackison said: "The extension of the shared service is far from ideal but is the only deployment plan available to us which allows us to maintain services and meet demand across the network."The Ardrossan-Campbeltown route has been cancelled for a third year in a row. Full details of services are available at the CalMac website. Four new large Calmac ships are being constructed at a shipyard in Turkey, with the first due for delivery in the coming months, but all four are delayed and will require weeks of crew familiarisation trials before entering service. MV Glen Sannox, built by the Ferguson shipyard, began scheduled sailings in January after years of delays, offering a significant boost for Arran services. Its sister ship Glen Rosa is currently due for delivery in September but a further delay is expected and a new update from the yard is awaited.
