CalMac have delayed or cancelled eight sailings between now and Friday, due to one of large rubber fenders on the roundhead being insecure. Contractors were working on the council-owned pier to replace the fender in recent weeks before the Isle of Mull returned to service, but the job was not finished. The lowest bolts securing the fender to the pier have not been fitted.
CalMac have judged that the potential for further damaging the pier and possibly the ferry too, is such that they will not bring the Isle of Mull alongside in low tides. So sailings that coincide with tides below 1.5m for the remainder of this week have been either cancelled or delayed. See the CalMac service page for details.
We have been contacting council officials as well as CalMac about this repeatedly over recent days. This evening we have been told that the contractor plans to be back on site on Wednesday. The hope therefore is that normal service will resume shortly thereafter.
The council have been aware of this issue for at least two weeks. It is unclear why the contractor left the job unfinished, or why it has taken such a long time to get them back on site to complete the job. It has to be said that Craignure Pier suffers from neglect, despite being a major profit centre for the Council’s harbours department. How much of this most recent issue is due to neglect or mis-management, and how much down to the actions of a contractor is unclear. But we will continue to press for answers.
CalMac will keep you up to date on developments and any further changes to sailings through the usual channels.
What a mess things are again – only 4 boats and some buses to look after everything from Colonsay to Coll and Tiree, Mull and Barra , South Uist to Harris and Lewis. MV Alfred left for overhaul today to crown it of !