Tag: travel

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It’s not a scare story, it’s fact – essential PPE supplies during Covid were prioritised by UK Government for England and denied to care homes in Scotland yet, later, we helped them out

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks once again to AR for alerting me to this. Ignored, of course, by BBC Scotland and somewhat downplayed by STV in ‘Scotland didn’t have a Covid PPE VIP lane and we didn’t need one’ at https://news.stv.tv/politics/scotland-didnt-have-a-covid-ppe-vip-lane-and-we-didnt-need-one, this is a shocking revelation of how, when the going got tough, Scotland did not benefit from the Union but, rather, was actively harmed by it. The above short video is a must watch and share for any who doubt the true nature of Scotland’s position in the UK. Nearly 5 years ago we knew this but the ‘Scottish’ … Continue reading It’s not a scare story, it’s fact – essential PPE supplies during Covid were prioritised by UK Government for England and denied to care homes in Scotland yet, later, we helped them out

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Canada buys two catamaran ferries from Romania which take another two years to make ready then quickly prove unsuitable for the conditions

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Professor John Robertson OBA From CBC Canada today: The Wolfe Islander IV (WI4) was off its regular course when it’s believed to have struck bottom, tearing a roughly 30-centimetre gash in its hull and causing the ferry to take on water, according to documents obtained by CBC. The collision happened just before noon on Dec. 4, when the long-awaited boat had only been carrying passengers for about three months. Now, after limping to dry dock in Hamilton with the help of tugboats, the ferry been out of commission for the same length of time. Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has yet to provide any information about what … Continue reading Canada buys two catamaran ferries from Romania which take another two years to make ready then quickly prove unsuitable for the conditions

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‘Complete insanity’ and ‘disaster after disaster’ – How affluent Canada’s ferry system fails

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Professor John Robertson OBA It’s now around two years since I heard a local councillor from the Island of Mull on Radio Scotland, suggesting that CalMac ran the worst ferry service in the world and that they should try to learn from other ferry services in other countries. I took him at his word and have monitored events from Alaska to New Zealand and, in the process found disaster after disaster, concerns far greater than reported here, from passengers killed by crew, through endless collisions and multiple fires to the more mundane, inflated prices, delays and really old ships. It’s … Continue reading ‘Complete insanity’ and ‘disaster after disaster’ – How affluent Canada’s ferry system fails

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The astonishing year-round value for money of Scotland’s island ferry travel constantly being hidden from us

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By stewartb The ticket price differences are crazy. The single adult passenger fare for the 2 hour 45 minute journey from Penzance Harbour, Cornwall to St Mary’s Harbour, Isles of Scilly by the ferry Scillonian III on Wednesday March 26, 2025 is available for purchase online at £92.99. For the reverse journey on 27 March, the ticket price is £87.99. The passenger only ferry, Scillonian was built in 1977, so now c.48 years old. It operates March to November. (https://www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/scillonian-iii/ ) By contrast, for the c. 4 hour 45 minute journey from Oban to Castlebay, Barra on 26 March, CalMac is charging £17.30 for … Continue reading The astonishing year-round value for money of Scotland’s island ferry travel constantly being hidden from us

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How ferries under Labour from 1997 to 2007 were never bad news and never politicised

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Professor John Robertson OBA Today, try searching for Scotland and ferries and you’ll be flooded, unlike the MV Glen Sannox‘s slightly damp steering gear, with a surge of reports, several directly ‘accusing’ or ‘shaming’, the SNP for the kind of minor repair that is often required in the teething stages of new ship. Try narrowing your search to the period from 1 January 1997 to 1 January 2007, Labour and the Lib Dem’s time in power and you’ll find very little indeed. You will find one (only) story of delays, due to repairs lasting 6 months, on 22 April 2003, … Continue reading How ferries under Labour from 1997 to 2007 were never bad news and never politicised

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So, in other parts of the developed world, a ferry passenger pushed to his death by the crew, fishermen killed by crew who don’t speak English, car decks flooded, one ferry runs aground because the only man on the bridge pressed the button wrongly, really old ferries, high prices, endless cancellations but in Scotland a one-day delay to fix a wee weld crack is an ‘SNP ferry fiasco?’

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Professor John Robertson OBA The discovery of a small crack in the hull of the MV Glen Sannox, a common event in new ships, and the 24 hour period out of service, has triggered an unholy, slavering media feeding frenzy, wholly out of proportion to the event. These objectively far more serious incidents in other parts of the developed world, have attracted far less attention and virtually no blaming of political parties or governments. On March 9th 2025, Red Funnel [should be Red Face] ferries on the Isle of Wight cancel sailings and disrupt travel because they spend too much on shareholder dividends … Continue reading So, in other parts of the developed world, a ferry passenger pushed to his death by the crew, fishermen killed by crew who don’t speak English, car decks flooded, one ferry runs aground because the only man on the bridge pressed the button wrongly, really old ferries, high prices, endless cancellations but in Scotland a one-day delay to fix a wee weld crack is an ‘SNP ferry fiasco?’

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A passenger pushed to his death, fishermen killed by crew who don’t speak English, car decks flooding, one ferry runs aground because the only man on the bridge pressed the wrong button, really old ferries, high prices, endless cancellations…it kind of makes you think maybe CalMac is the best in the world?

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Professor John Robertson OBA Today Red Funnel [should be Red Face] ferries on the Isle of Wight cancel sailings and disrupt travel because they spend too much on shareholder dividends and executive bonuses and thus don’t spend enough on maintenance or replacement.1 In October 2024, a late-arriving passenger was pushed into the screws, to his death, in Greece. Then the crews all went on strike for months, islanders ran out of food and, only three years before a ferry with 530 on board had sunk.2 In July 2024, a Channel Islands ferry kills French fishermen because the crew do not … Continue reading A passenger pushed to his death, fishermen killed by crew who don’t speak English, car decks flooding, one ferry runs aground because the only man on the bridge pressed the wrong button, really old ferries, high prices, endless cancellations…it kind of makes you think maybe CalMac is the best in the world?

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Scilly Season – 48 year old ailing, elderly, ferry replacement no longer due in 2026 despite journey times dearly doubling

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By Professor John Robertson OBE From BBC Cornwall, yesterday: Final preparations are under way for the Scillonian III ferry to start sailing to the Isles of Scilly next month on what could be her last season. The vessel came into service in 1977 and has made more than 10,000 trips to the islands. Senior managers at the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group (ISSG) have said the ferry was now 48 years old and it was now time to look forward. Her replacement, the Scillonian IV, and a new cargo vessel were both under construction in Vietnam and were scheduled to enter service … Continue reading Scilly Season – 48 year old ailing, elderly, ferry replacement no longer due in 2026 despite journey times dearly doubling

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The case for developing a shipbuilding industry on the Clyde – as four cheap-build island ‘lifeline’, Turkey-built ferries are delayed again and again despite cheap and dangerous practice

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The MV Isle of Islay, a Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) vessel and the first of two vessels to serve the islands of Jura and Islay, taking to the water for the first time on Saturday at Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Yalova, Turkey. Picture: CMAL/PA Wire© (Photo: CMAL) By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scotsman today: A fleet of ferries being built in Turkey have been hit by a further setback, with their completion date pushed back by at least another three months due to labour shortages. The Isle of Islay – the first of four vessels being built at the … Continue reading The case for developing a shipbuilding industry on the Clyde – as four cheap-build island ‘lifeline’, Turkey-built ferries are delayed again and again despite cheap and dangerous practice

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LATEST – Two research groups praise unique SNP efforts to tackle child poverty in the interests of all of us

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS From Turning the tide What it will take to reduce child poverty in the UK published by the Resolution Foundation, two days ago, at: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/, the above revealing graph and: In 2017, the Scottish Government enshrined ambitious child poverty reduction targets into law. These targets require Scottish ministers to reduce relative child poverty in Scotland to below 10 per cent and absolute child poverty to below 5 per cent by 2030 (both measured after housing costs).50 Such ambition has led to Scotland enacting measures that directly boost the incomes of parents claiming … Continue reading LATEST – Two research groups praise unique SNP efforts to tackle child poverty in the interests of all of us