‘Reject’ ferry now wanted

CalMac back in for MV Pentalina after 2021 deal scuppered by fire safety fears

A VESSEL rejected last year over safety concerns could now be leased to tackle Scotland’s ferry crisis.

CalMac is understood to have filed a request to use MV Pentalina amid an ongoing crisis which has seen numerous services cancelled and islanders forced to ration food.

Transport Scotland was urged by passenger groups to buy the ferry last year, but concerns were raised about its age.

A leasing agreement was also discussed with owner Pentland Ferries last year but the Maritime and Coastguard Agency raised safety concerns about fire protection on board. Pentland Ferries then decided against the leasing agreement and returned it to service last month after it was passed fit to sail.

Now CalMac is said to have enquired about ‘a short-term lease to support resilience’ after one of its ferries broke down three times. This blocked two key Outer Hebrides routes for three days shortly before another 29-year-old vessel also had a problem with its engine and propellers.

Transport Scotland said it is open to leasing the Pentalina to ease pressure on its services.

Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, said: ‘For them to allow Scotland’s ferry services to collapse in this way is criminally negligent.’

Alasdair Allan, MSP for the Western Isles, said: ‘There is poor contingency planning, the pain of disruption is passed from one island community to the other.’

The Pentalina is nearly 15 years old and can carry up to 350 passengers and 58 cars. Managing director of Pentland Ferries, Andrew Banks, said last year: ‘We cannot commit to a scenario whereby external factors have the potential to cause reputational damage to the business we have worked so hard to build.’

Last month Pentalina returned to taking passengers between Gills Bay and St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney.

Joe Rase, of the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee, urged Transport Scotland to get a lease agreement sorted ‘within days’.’

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘The MV Pentalina was considered for possible charter in 2021. We remain open to exploring a charter option. We would of course need to consider the terms and affordability.’ n SCOTTISH ministers remain upbeat about a network of island tunnels and bridges.

A Transport Scotland report shows despite costs of about £32million per mile for the underwater fixed links – with tunnels between Benbecula and Skye and Mull and Oban under consideration – politicians believe it could bring huge economic benefits.

Scotland Office minister Iain Stewart has backed the idea after visiting a similar project linking parts of the Faroe Isles.