CalMac’s chief executive has apologised to customers after the ferry company made the “difficult decision” to cancel the Campbeltown-Ardrossan ferry service for the entire 2024 summer season.
It comes as a result of the delayed return to service of the MV Caledonian Isles, which will be kept in annual overhaul for approximately 16 weeks.
The 31-year-old vessel operates on the Ardrossan-Brodick route, but her time out of service means vessels have to be moved around the network, with the seasonal Campbeltown service cancelled for the entire season.
“Unfortunately, due to a lack of an available vessel, the Campbeltown to Ardrossan service will not operate during the 2024 summer season,” said Robbie Drummond, CalMac’s chief executive.
“I appreciate that this is not the news that the community had been hoping to hear and I am very sorry for the disruption that this will cause.”
He added: “Our services are completely stretched, and with MV Caledonian Isles being out of service for repairs, we are already having to move vessels around to ensure that islands maintain lifeline services.
“Resilience will greatly improve once we welcome our new vessels into the fleet, but until then we will have to make difficult decisions such as this.”
Councillor John Armour, who chairs the Campbeltown Ferry Committee, is “extremely disappointed” by the news, but “angry” at CalMac’s lack of prior consultation with the committee ahead of making the announcement.
“I find that totally unacceptable,” he said. “In the past, CalMac has been good at flagging up issues with me in good time, prior to going public, but our committee has been completely ignored and badly let down in this instance.”
He added: “I fully understand why the islands need to take priority and can accept that, until the new ferries are in operation, the Campbeltown to Ardrossan route will always be impacted. However, I do feel that cancelling the service for the whole season this early in the year is premature, unless there are greater problems with the vessels than has been indicated.
“With new ferries scheduled to be in place in 2025, I will be writing to all involved – Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, CMAL and CalMac – to demand that a plan be put in place to ensure that the Campbeltown service has a robust and reliable ferry, the route is promoted, and marketed to the maximum in time for the start of the 2025 season.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Tim Eagle has also spoken out about the potential negative impact the cancellation of the service could have in Kintyre.
“Local residents will be understandably angry and disappointed at this late announcement from CalMac," he said. “Not only will this cause a significant inconvenience for local residents, but it means that businesses in Campbeltown and the wider Kintyre peninsula will suffer from reduced footfall.
“However, the fact that this route has been impacted by the delayed return of a 31-year-old vessel shows the Scottish Government’s abject failure to deliver new, reliable ferries for communities across Argyll and Bute and beyond.”
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