The Herald today is platforming a Conservatives freedom of information figure of 3 215 CalMac ferry crossings cancelled due to technical problems in the first nine months of 2023, under the headline – CalMac ferry cancellations a ‘shocking betrayal’ of islanders.
WTF just the first nine months?
CalMac makes around 400 to 500 crossings every day of the year. Let’s go with the lower figure. That’s around 150 000 per year. The 3 215 make up only 2.14%.
Any other cancellations are due to dangerous weather. CalMac has never lost a passenger, never mind a ferry, due to mistakes of the kind we can see in the history of ferry services in other parts of the world, all of which, in the northern hemisphere (not New Zealand) operate in warmer, less stormy waters than they get on the west of Scotland.
In May 2023, CalMac reliability was 99%. Its ferries are the newest on average in the world.
Isle of Wight ferries, there are two companies, have been at only 78% reliability recently but are always able to pay massive shareholder dividends because they charge several times the CalMac rate in the summer, because they can.
Washington State Ferries in the US charge twice as much for cancellation rates, at times of 30%, currently have 29% out of service, compared to only 9% for CalMac, and operate ferries far older than CalMac, some with no bow doors!
British Columbia ferries are little better than WSF and conceal their reliability data.
In Lake Ontario, Kingston Ferries bought two cheap replacement ferries from Romania which then took a further 2 years to be made safe for work.
Cook Strait Ferries in New Zealand have had to cancel new ferries despite existing older boats, drifting powerless toward rocks with hundreds on board, crashing into piers and recently running aground. The recent Orkney run-aground was not a CalMac, Clyde-built boat but a privately-owned relatively new catamaran built in Vietnam.
As for Greece, there are no services for smaller islands in the winter season, massive overcrowding in the summer and one case of the crew pushing a determined late arrival to his death in the screws!
This endless media-made-up campaign, against the SNP via CalMac performance and new build delays, is purely a cynical opposition party ploy which is using up far too much of my time to scuttle.
Footnote – all of the above is sourced in my many earlier posts. Just search with the wee magnifying glass above. I’m too busy.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I had a wee look at this “Herald” filler piece. It’s nothing remarkable, just a re-hash of countless Herald pieces and a chance for a Conservative to quote a “Shocking” narrative for a headline.
What is remarkable, is just how few of the usual unionist likely lads now bother to comment let alone up-tick each other with their own self appreciation and of course the essential SNP bad narrative when this Herald rubbish pops up.
Sadly, it looks like Maritime Williams has given up the “Fiasco Ferry” brief and has now moved onto the Nuclear Fission and Country Pubs for sale brief.
I know that we all wish him well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
70,000 islanders. 34 ferries. 6 on order. Average 1 ferry for 2,000 islanders. Many of the islands have less than 100 people.
Better than many bus services. 10 crossing a day. Subsidised transport and fares for islanders. + flights.
LikeLike