Tag: ferry

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Threat of complete tourism collapse as Channel Islands government dillies but one tender seems quite unsafe

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Owned by King Charles III and run by centrist/rightist governments, the Channel Island been suffering a terrible ferry fiasco for years now with locals often unable to meet important medical appointments and businesses run businesses, especially in tourism. From BBC South-West, today: Ferry firms and business groups have called for an “immediate” decision on which company will run ferry operations in the Channel Islands from March. Brittany Ferries, Condor Ferries, Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the Jersey Hospitality Association, said in a statement that the “prolonged impasse” on awarding the contract was “detrimental” to tourism. Christophe Mathieu, chief executive of … Continue reading Threat of complete tourism collapse as Channel Islands government dillies but one tender seems quite unsafe

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Government of Tasmania bedevilled by costly ferry ‘stuff up’ to rival New Zealand’s $3 billion ferrymageddon and to make the Arran Ferry Fiasco one of those things in a teacup

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Regulars here will know that New Zealand’s lifeline Cook Straits ferry system is in a real crisis as the Government refuses to pay $3 billion for 2 new ferries. Just round the corner in Tasmania, population 573 000, 12 times that of Arran but like Arran, relying on two ‘lifeline’ ferries, there’s a ‘stuff-up’ (Worse than a fiasco or less bad?). Here’s the stuff-up, from Yahoo News yesterday: The start date for two new larger Bass Strait ferries has been pushed further back, with vital berth upgrades several years behind an already delayed schedule. Cost blowouts, finger pointing between state-owned … Continue reading Government of Tasmania bedevilled by costly ferry ‘stuff up’ to rival New Zealand’s $3 billion ferrymageddon and to make the Arran Ferry Fiasco one of those things in a teacup

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Brian Wilson knows nothing about the massive benefit islanders get from Scot Gov generosity on ferries

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Brian Wilson is in the Herald today with another ill-informed rant against CalMac and by association, of course, the SNP in Government. Read it yourself, if you have the stomach. Here are the facts: Research reveals Scotland’s island communities benefit from the most inclusive, generously subsidised and up-to-date ferry service in the comparable world Research undertaken for Transport Scotland in 2022, by Ernst and Young LLP, compared the ferry systems operating in Scotland, Canada (BC), Norway, Australia and New Zealand. The Norway service is a bit of an outlier with twice as many passengers per year than … Continue reading Brian Wilson knows nothing about the massive benefit islanders get from Scot Gov generosity on ferries

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Cost of two larger New Zealand ferries must rise to $3 BILLION, significantly more pro rata than the £360 million cost of Calmac’s MV Sannox and Glen Rosa

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From Newsroom yesterday: $3b a small price to pay for future of Interislander ferries – The Cook Strait ferries debacle has focused on the cost blow-outs for the respective port upgrades but there has been little attention given to what is needed to ensure adequate connectivity between our two main islands. It is obvious that a country split into two main islands needs reliable, efficient, modern rail-enabled ferry services. It’s hard to think of another transport requirement as important as this. Yet Government ministers have nickel-and-dimed the debate to the extent that the real question in play here is obscured … Continue reading Cost of two larger New Zealand ferries must rise to $3 BILLION, significantly more pro rata than the £360 million cost of Calmac’s MV Sannox and Glen Rosa

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Ferry death scandal as 7 dead in US state with more than twice per head Scotland’s GDP

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Forum Daily yesterday: At least 7 dead after Georgia ferry dock collapses – Eight people were taken to hospitals, at least six of them with serious injuries, and crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, McIntosh County Fire Department and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources were pulling victims and survivors from the water, said Tyler Jones, a spokesman for Natural Resources. The agency operates a marina and ferries between the island and the mainland. The jetty’s gangway collapsed, sending people into the water, Jones said. A team of engineers and construction experts arrived on the … Continue reading Ferry death scandal as 7 dead in US state with more than twice per head Scotland’s GDP

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400 passengers stranded in Bilbao on a day when Brittany ferries cancels, brings forward or delays, 5 out of only 14 sailings in a ferry fiasco while CalMac does 97% of 506 sailings on time

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From MSN today: BRITTANY FERRIES HAS apologised to hundreds of passengers who are stuck on a ferry in the Port of Bilbao due to a “technical problem”.    The Galicia ferry, which travels from Rosslare to Bilbao and is operated by Brittany Ferries, was due to sail at 4pm Irish time.  However, the journey was abandoned because of a technical problem, which is understood to have affected one of the vessel’s engines. There are thought to be approximately 400 passengers onboard.  Imagine that happened in Scotland. From Brittany Ferries today: 2 out of only 14 cancelled and 4 moved to … Continue reading 400 passengers stranded in Bilbao on a day when Brittany ferries cancels, brings forward or delays, 5 out of only 14 sailings in a ferry fiasco while CalMac does 97% of 506 sailings on time

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CalMac ferry fares to increase to only a fraction of those for Isle of Wight.

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From BBC Scotland today: Ferry fares in Scotland will increase by 10% from next year, the Scottish government has confirmed. The rise will take effect from 1 January 2025 on the Northern Isles network and from 28 March on the west coast. CalMac’s services in the west have been under particular pressure due to ageing vessels, with the main Arran ferry out of action for most of the year. Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said a fare freeze in place this year had cost £10m and it would be “too challenging to continue”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly40y40pq9o?at_format=link&at_link_origin=BBCScotlandNews&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_link_id=A28BEBDA-8A30-11EF-A859-B34A7FBC4FAB&at_campaign_type=owned&at_ptr_name=twitter She said fares were frozen for 2023-24 instead … Continue reading CalMac ferry fares to increase to only a fraction of those for Isle of Wight.

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Korean ferry fiasco as 7 out of 10 are not equipped to respond to electric vehicle fires

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It’s never-ending once you start looking abroad, as a Mull Tory councillor from Buckingham, once suggested we do, for ways to improve CalMac, the as he put it, ‘worst ferry service in the world.’ Turns out he was full of hot air. When you do look, you keep finding the opposite and with every investigation it becomes clear that thanks to 17 years of SNP subsidy, Scotland actually has the best – most frequent, most reliable, cheapest and safest – ferry service in the world. Only yesterday, I could write: You can now add Tasmania to New Zealand, Greece, Isle … Continue reading Korean ferry fiasco as 7 out of 10 are not equipped to respond to electric vehicle fires

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You can now add Tasmania to New Zealand, Greece, Isle of Wight, Washington State, British Columbia, Lake Ontario, Alaska, Channel Islands, Scilly Islands and Malta ferries for less-safe, less-reliable, less-frequent and more costly systems than we enjoy in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson, International Ferry Correspondent From ABC News Australia, today: Spirit of Tasmania ferry and port saga escalates with claims of safety risks, ‘appalling’ support and strained relationships. The former chair of Spirit of Tasmania operator, TT-Line, has appeared at a parliamentary inquiry and slammed the Tasmanian government for its “appalling” level of support during the bungled rollout of two new vessels. Michael Grainger also described a “challenging” relationship with the state-owned operator of Tasmania’s ports infrastructure over delayed facility upgrades, safety issues with the government’s interim solution, and that he had kept minister Michael Ferguson informed at … Continue reading You can now add Tasmania to New Zealand, Greece, Isle of Wight, Washington State, British Columbia, Lake Ontario, Alaska, Channel Islands, Scilly Islands and Malta ferries for less-safe, less-reliable, less-frequent and more costly systems than we enjoy in Scotland

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Population size of Arran to have no ferry service at all for nearly two months in affluent Canadian Nova Scotland

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From CTV News today: The ferry service between Saint John, N.B., and Digby, N.S., will be out of commission for nearly two months due to mandatory work in Quebec. The MV Fundy Rose will go to the Verreault Shipyard at Les Méchins, Que., for biannual drydock and refit work, according to a news release from Bay Ferries Limited(opens in a new tab). The work will put the ferry out of service from Oct. 15 to Dec. 3. https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/more/saint-john-ferry-going-out-of-service-for-nearly-two-months-marine-atlantic-ferry-sailings-disrupted-1.7064591 There is only one ferry operating this 2 hour 30 min service, to a population of around 5 000 in Digby, Lunenberg and … Continue reading Population size of Arran to have no ferry service at all for nearly two months in affluent Canadian Nova Scotland