have been without a reliable regular ferry service for the past year.
By Professor John Robertson, OBA
As BBC Reporting Scotland celebrate the return of the MV Caledonian Isles to the Arran service, they do not, of course, tell you why it has been a troubled vessel.
Readers will already know that the MV Caledonian Isles had been in dock for repairs following botched work by Cammell Laird in Liverpool.
Readers will also be aware of the regular and longstanding Scottish media reports describing the vessel as ‘troubled’ and ‘fault prone.’
While such accounts have been often exaggerated and ill-informed, it may be that the vessel has been, since its launch, marked by the consequences of political errors and shoddy work by its builders.
Launched on 25 May 1993 at Richards Shipbuilders of Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, shut down only months later in 1994, the yard had no experience of building ferries for the stormy seas of Western Scotland and, notably, the Herald in December 1993, was already reporting problems with winter crossings to Ardrossan, often diverted to Gourock and local businesses complaining about that.
When the contract was given to the Suffolk shipbuilder, the Conservative Party Secretary of State for Scotland was Malcom Rifkind and the Minister for Industry was Ian Lang. You have to wonder why, given the yard’s lack of previous experience and imminent demise, if the Scottish Conservatives were doing a wee favour to the local MP or UK Government?
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I would not say BBC Scotland ‘celebrated’ the return of this vessel to the Arran Service.
It merely noted that it had returned to service in fairly grudging terms and, of course, reprised the history of what it alleges as ‘failures’.
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