Today it was confirmed that Coruisk will return to Mull from April 1st through till at least the middle of June. As we reported in December, the MV Isle of Mull has had her passenger capacity reduced to just 45 due to decaying emergency evacuation slides (MES). Currently operating to Castlebay and Lochboisdale, she can’t return to Mull full-time until new emergency slides are fitted.
Whilst the Loch Frisa is in dry-dock in March, the Isle of Arran will operate Craignure services. Then from April 1st with the commencement of the summer timetable, Coruisk will return to be our second vessel. The IOM will be helping out elsewhere as best as she can through April and the first half of May. Then when Finlaggan returns from dry-dock (currently scheduled for May 15th), she will be relieved to enable a new MES to be fitted. That work is likely to take around four weeks, meaning that she will not be able to return to the Craignure-Oban service until the middle of June – if everything goes according to the current plan.
We have written to officials at Argyll and Bute Council today, because there is a way they can help out with this. If the South side of Craignure pier is made available for the Coruisk to berth on over-night, the Loch Frisa will be able to operate for longer each day. Thanks to having double crewing, the Frisa can operate for up to 18 hours per day – but only if the berths at each end are free. That could add precious extra capacity as we enter the summer season.
However, the small cruise ships Lord of the Glens and Lord of the Highlands have already booked the South berth and plan to over-night there regularly. The Council’s policy for Craignure pier (but apparently not for other piers) is to prioritise whoever books first, regardless of what the ship is. So as we experienced last year in similar circumstances, they will not permit the Coruisk to over-night on Craignure pier on nights when a cruise ship has a prior bookiing. The result is that CalMac’s ability to operate a lifeline ferry service is compromised by the Council’s booking policy. We have heard first-hand that at other Council piers t is common practice for commercial bookings to be cancelled when there is some kind of operational need. Yet that is not done in respect of cruise ships at Craignure, even for a ferry with an un=planned need. We think this is entirely the wrong prioritisation, and that the public pier should be made available for running a public lifeline ferry service .
Those cruise ships are very welcome – but not to the detriment of our ferry service. There are alternatives they could use in Lochaline, FIshnish and perhaps Salen too. Passengers do not disembark – all they are looking for is a safe overnight berth. WIth more than a month for them to make alternative arrangements, we think it’s reasonable and appropriate that the Council ask them to change their plans. We await a response which we hope will come soon, so that CalMac can work up the fullest timetable possible.
Below is the full PDF briefing document from CalMac that explains their ship-shuffling plans for the next few months. If you have a booking on an affected sailing you should be contacted – but given the number of bookings involved it will take some time. Note also that the Deck Space Priority Pilot will NOT apply to sailings operated by the Coruisk.
You can get guidance on how CalMac will mange the service here.