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Displaying items by tag: Ferry fares review

Ferry operator, Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) owned by the Scottish Government, could face an increase in fares for visitors to west coast islands as part of a major government review amid rising demand and costs.

According to newly-published proposals, suggest that a reduction in ferry fares by ministers made almost a decade ago to bring them into line with road travel costs, could be reversed for all users with the exception of island residents.

The development came as yet another delay to the hugely-late newbuild hybrid-powered ferry Glen Sannox, was signalled by Clyde based shipbuilder Ferguson Marine, which said its completion could be postponed beyond the latest delivery date set for May.

The Port Glasgow based shipyard cited the delay of the 102m ferry, originally to enter service in 2018 on the Isle of Arran route, was because of problems getting parts for the ferry’s novel dual-fuel system.

In response to the shipyard’s revised delivery date, the Scottish Government has described the announcement as “concerning and extremely disappointing”.

A review of west coast island ferry fares, is a plan that Ministers intend to examine, as part of a new strategy for links to the islands. This follows reduced ticket prices that led to a surge in demand and consequently resulted in overwhelming some routes at already busy peak times.

For more, The Scotsman reports, including reduced fares also applied since 2018 to Scottish east coast ferry firm, NorthLink (operated by Serco) serving Orkney and the Shetland Isles.

Published in Ferry

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.