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The new season of winter meetings opened on Friday 30^th with a presentation by Ms Susan Paterson, Marketing Manager of Caledonian MacBrayne.

Her presentation entitled “ The Marketing of Caledonian MacBrayne “ was most informative and was well received by the assembled audience who asked Ms Paterson a wide range of questions.

It came as a surprise to learn that 50% of the income earned from the tourist trade is from within Scotland. However the main priority for CalMac remains the residents and who live and work on the islands.

The marketing department not only tries to raise awareness of the product, it also looks at the age groups of those who travel on the ferries and the range of activities which the islands have to offer e.g. heritage and culture, wildlife and adventure holidays. As Ms Paterson pointed out travelling on the ferries should be an adventure in itself.

Mr John Whittle, Honorary President of the West Highland Steamer Club, gave the vote of thanks. Mr Whittle was on the board of Caledonian MacBrayne until he retired in 1988.

The next meeting will be held on Friday 27^th November when the speaker will be Mr John Newth. His presentation is entitled “ My Career in Shipping”.

All meetings are held in the Kirk Lounge, Renfield St Stephens Church Hall, Bath Street, Glasgow commencing at 19.30. Non members welcome.

State aid: Commission closes investigation into public financing of ferry shipping services in Scotland.
The European Commission has today decided that public financing for the operation of ferry shipping services in Scotland is compatible with State aid rules. However, this decision is subject to the condition that the national authorities launch a transparent and non-discriminatory public tender for the operation of the Gourock-Dunoon route in the western islands. The Commission will continue to closely monitor the public financing of the Scottish ferry transport system in order to avoid any undue distortion of competition.

On 16 April 2008, the Commission started an in-depth review of the public financing of regular ferry shipping services between the Scottish mainland and the islands off the west and north coasts of Scotland. With the exception of the Gourock-Dunoon route in the western islands, these services are currently provided under public service contracts, which followed open public tender procedures. The operators currently providing these services are: CalMac Ferries Ltd. (western islands, with the exception of Gourock-Dunoon); Cowal Ferries Ltd. (Gourock-Dunoon route); and NorthLink Ferries Ltd. (northern islands).

In its decision of April 2008, the Commission expressed doubts about whether the public compensation granted to the operators of the different routes was proportional to its declared objective. In particular, the Commission wanted to ascertain whether the compensation paid to the operators did not exceed the costs of providing the public service entrusted on them and whether these operators had engaged in any type of anti-competitive behaviour. In the absence of a public tender for the operation of the Gourock-Dunoon route, the Commission also doubted whether the public compensation for the operation of this route was compatible with State aid rules.

In today's decision, the Commission confirmed that the public service obligations for the western and northern islands were legitimately defined and entrusted on the operators, with the exception of the Gourock-Dunoon route. In the case of this route, the national authorities have committed to take the necessary steps to launch a public tender for its operation before the end of 2009. The subsequent public service contract should enter into force before end June 2011.

The Commission also came to the conclusion that the compensation paid to the operators in the past did not exceed the costs of providing the public service entrusted on them. Lastly, it did not find sufficient evidence that these operators had engaged in any type of anti-competitive behaviour that might have unduly distorted competition.

Therefore, on the basis of the commitment from the national authorities to launch a public tender for the operation of the Gourock-Dunoon route, the Commission decided to close the procedure with a positive decision. Nevertheless, it will continue to monitor not only the fulfilment of this commitment, but also the public financing of the Scottish ferry transport system as a whole in order to avoid any future undue distortion of competition in this sector.

Due to adverse weather conditions the 18.00 sailing from Kennacraig to Islay tonight will be diverting to Port Askaig. This means that the 09.45 sailing from Islay tomorrow will depart from Port Askaig not Port Ellen as timetabled.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd are holding a competition to decide upon the name of the new Islay ferry. Two lucky voters will go to the launching of the vessel in Poland.

Although the exact figure was not revealed the smiles of Mod organisers showed that the money has given the event financial security.

Phil Preston, Managing Director of CalMac said: “We have a long and proud tradition of supporting the Mod. We value the chance it provides to meet our customers face to face. It is a good way to give something back to the community”.

The 13.30 ex Berneray and 14.40 ex Leverburgh are cancelled due to tidal conditions on Saturday 17^th, Monday 19^th and Tuesday 20^th.

The Sound of Harris route from Berneray to Leverburgh is subjected to delays today due to heavy fog. The 08.25 ex Leverburgh will be delayed due to heavy fog. Expected arrival at Berneray is 10.10 , forty-five minutes late. Further sailings may be subject to delay due to fog.

Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne today (Monday, October 12) launched its 2010 Explore brochure at the Royal National Mod in Oban.

When is a van not a camper van? When it does not have a toilet. At least, that is what a couple from Wales were told when they tried to board the 15.45pm Caledonian MacBrayne sailing to Barra on Tuesday afternoon.

The holidaymakers, from Pwellheli in Wales, were making their way to Barra for a first visit to the Scottish islands thanks to the reduced fares offered by the Road Equivalent Tariff. But when they turned up in Oban with their van, a home-converted Renault Master, CalMac staff told them that they could not travel on their ticket, purchased online, as they were in a commercial vehicle. Instead, they would have to pay commercial rates – tripling the fare.

Gary Shaw and partner Bethan Roberts were astounded. Ms Shaw said: ‘There are adverts all over the television asking people to come to the Scotland islands using the reduced fares and I cannot believe we have been turned away.

‘The staff at the ferry terminal were great – but special staff down for the week decided that our camper van was not a camper van and they took us out of the queue of traffic.’

Mr Shaw said: ‘It is a camper van in Wales; I cannot understand why it is not a camper van in Scotland. It measures 5.4 metres and it has a fitted bed and cooker – I made them myself, but it doesn’t have a fitted toilet – and I think that is what the problem is.

A CalMac spokesman said: ‘We can understand this couple’s frustration, but our definition of a motorhome is that it is a windowed vehicle with permanent living facilities. Having inspected this vehicle we do not consider that it fits this description and it is therefore classed as a commercial vehicle and charged at the commercial vehicle rate.’

As autumn weather returns and winter gales get closer, people living on Gigha want to know why work has still to start on the promised plans to solve problems at Tayinloan Slipway.

Earlier this year Argyll and Bute council announced that Tayinloan Slipway is to have more than £2 million spent on it to solve the weed and silt problems that disrupt the Gigha ferry service every winter.

When the berth closes, which it has done frequently, it means a longer ferry service to Kennacraig with fewer sailings. The work agreed will modify the causeway at Tayinloan and extend the existing breakwater. £400,00 will be spent in the current financial year and £2.225 million in 2010-11 with the money taken from the council’s budget for piers and harbours.

Ferry operators Caledonian MacBrayne sailed into a storm this week over a move which had halted the movement of “loose” freight between Oban and the islands of Mull, Barra and South Uist.

The roots of the problem go back some years ago to the time when the old conventional cargo and passenger steamers were being superseded by modern ferries.

Changing technology called for changing methods and responsibility for handling freight was divided between CalMac and Mac Rayne Haulage later privatised as Kildonan MacBrayne.

CalMac handled freight bound for Coll, Tiree, Colonsay and Lismore while Kildonan MacBrayne concentrated on traffic bound for Mull, Barra and South Uist.

Ferry customers visiting the Mod in Oban next week will have the opportunity to quiz senior CalMac staff at a daily “Meet the Managers” session within the town’s ferry terminal.

Sailings across the Sound of Harris between Berneray and Leverburgh will be disrupted by tidal conditions on Saturday 17^th , Monday 19^th and Tuesday 20^th .

Oban-Castlebay and Lochboisdale, Oban-Coll and Tiree, Oban-Craignure, Tayinloan-Gigha, Iona-Fionnphort, Ullapool-Stornoway, Berneray-Leverburgh, Mallaig-Small Isles.

The cost of subsidising Scotland’s ferry network has risen by nearly one-third to £90 million last year due to higher fuel costs and fare reductions on some routes, accounts published by David MacBrayne have revealed.

The group, whose subsidiaries include CalMac Ferries and Northlink Ferries, saw passenger levels fall by between 2% and 7% on sailings to the Clyde and Hebridean islands, but the figures were not helped by the busy Easter holidays falling outwith the financial period.

The Road Equivalent Tariff, which cut fares on routes to the Western Isles when it was introduced as a pilot a year ago, was declared a success in boosting passenger figures. However, together with a 37% increase in fuel costs, ferry costs increased dramatically.

The David MacBrayne Group, which comprises the principal operators of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services and the Northern Isles ferry services, today (Thursday, October 1) published its Annual Report for 2008/09.

The team behind a collaborative approach to replace small ferries in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland held a one-day conference in Brussels this week.

The Small Ferries Project is hoping to raise awareness of what it is trying to achieve, which is the replacement of small ferries using a common design and building strategy to reduce overall costs.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd is one of the partners in the team. Among the routes involved are Tarbert – Portavadie, Gigha – Tayinloan, Oban – Lismore and Tobermory – Kilchoan.

The conference was to include topics on finance through cross-border co-operation, the importance of lifeline services and low carbon ferries.

The campaign for a new ferry link between Mallaig and Lochboisdale has received a major boost after Highland Regional Council backed the plan for the first time.

Lochaber Provost Councillor Allan Henderson welcomed the Council’s decision to support the new ferry link in its submission to the Scottish Government Ferry Review.

Councillor Henderson said the new service would be a natural progression to increased traffic between the mainland and the islands as a result of cheaper fares under the Government’s Road Equivalent Tariff pilot scheme.