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CALMAC BOSSES DEFEND MV FINLAGGAN PERFORMANCE Public concerns about the performance of MV Finlaggan on the Uig-Lochmaddy - Tarbert triangle were played down by CalMac senior management at a public meeting in Lochmaddy. Chief Executive Martin Dorchester, Chief of Operations Brian Fulton and chairman David McGibbon attended the meeting at the invitation of North Uist Community Council. Mr Dorchester said that there had been challenges around Finlaggan, but he repeatedly defended the ship’s record since she took over the Minch triangle in December while MV Hebrides was deployed elsewhere as refit cover. He cited timetabling, intense weather pockets and berthing as a series of challenges, some unexpected, which faced Finlaggan. He said MV Clansman had been taken out of its usual role as refit cover ship during winter to give greater capacity to smaller islands which risked being cut off for up to a week in winter. Mr Dorchester said the timetable had proved challenging for Finlaggan, but was equally so for MV Hebrides. He said CalMac has received far more complaints about Hebrides than Finlaggan. Asked why Finlaggan did not sail on days perceived as calm, Mr Dorchester said it was always the captain’s call whether the ship sailed or not and CalMac backed all its Masters to the full on their decision.
March 2013
When asked about loss of time and money to businesses through Finlaggan’s unreliability, Mr Dorchester said there were a lot less complaints about Finlaggan compared to Hebrides. He said: “Finlaggan is better than Hebrides for freight reliability.” Mr Dorchester could give no assurances that MV Finlaggan will not serve the Uig triangle next winter. He said new ships coming into the fleet and the Ferries Plan would ultimately dictate how the fleet would be deployed in the future. Cllr Uisdean Robertson said: “It was a rather unexpected forceful defence of something that has been nowhere as good as the Hebrides performance.” Outer Hebrides Commerce Group coordinator Gail Robertson said: “Lorries are tightly packed and can’t open their doors fully. Yes, the Hebrides could be late sometimes, but this one is consistently late. The lateness and cancellations have been costing businesses money here, but I got the feeling with CalMac that we would never win the argument.” MV Hebrides will return to the Uig triangle for Easter and CalMac says it will consult the community on options for next winter.
Martin Dorchester,CEO CalMac
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