Exclusive:Hebridean island at 'crisis point' in wake of CalMac disruption, businessman warns
Fallout over vessel issues comes as Storm Dave expected to cause widespread disruption
A leading business owner in the Inner Hebrides has warned the island is reaching “crisis point” as a result of the widespread problems facing CalMac, which is continuing to bring its ferries back to service after what it described as a “firestorm.”
Alex Howard, who runs a holiday cottage business on Colonsay, said households on the island had been acting like “preppers” in order to ensure they do not run out of food, and described the current situation as the “perfect storm.”
Mr Howard said his own business was facing up to its worst Easter period in more than three decades, with half of his cottages empty because the ferry operator’s booking service is being temporarily closed for nearly two weeks over April.
Colonsay is one of a number of islands hit hard by the disruption, which saw four ferries needing repairs, with four others unavailable due to annual maintenance.
The state-owned firm said the situation has since eased after MV Glen Sannox returned to Arran and the MV Isle of Islay - the first of four new CalMac ships built in Turkey - entered service. The MV Lord of Isles set to sail again early next week.
It comes as CalMac warned of likely “widespread disruption” across the ferry network this weekend due to Storm Dave, with anyone planning to travel urged to check the status of their route beforehand.
Colonsay, Tiree and Coll have recently had to contend with a reduced ferry service due to a smaller vessel covering the route. Mr Howard, who was brought up on Colonsay, said it was the “least well served community” on the entire CalMac network, and said the situation “has never been as bad” as it is at present.
He said: “Food deliveries are getting to crisis point. Households have to effectively be ‘preppers’ in order to ensure that they don’t run out of food. The only shop on the island has huge problems with supply.
“We have one couple who arrived on the island last year and bought a house here. They are leaving this month and cite the main reason for this as the isolation. The ability to attract new people to Colonsay is increasingly difficult and made impossible without a viable, reliable ferry service.”
He added: “Small businesses on the islands are being un-reasonably asked to carry the financial burden of the ongoing disaster.
Mr Howard said it was “ridiculous” to think that the “ageing fleet” will not suffer from more breakdowns, stressing: “In reality the situation will go on getting worse before it can get better as there is significant lead-time before new vessels can be brought in to service.”
He said his own business was being negatively impacted by the ferry disruption, pointing out along with the closed booking system, anyone who has already booked is finding it “impossible” to travel due to cancellations and a lack of capacity on future sailings.”
Mr Howard, a member of the Colonsay & Oransay Transport Group, also criticised the “ineffective management” by Transport Scotland, CalMac, and Caledonian Maritime Assets, adding: “The Scottish government has failed to invest in new ferries over their 16-year tenure other than in an appalling waste of money to build two ferries on the Clyde, one of which is highly unlikely to ever go to sea.”
Colonsay community councillor David Hobhouse agreed the situation could “hardly be worse,” pointing out that in the last week of March, it was served with “one sailing that was as per the schedule.”
He added: “The typical amount of time ‘off-island’ for a resident having a medical appointment in Oban is a minimum of three days and more often seven days.”
A CalMac spokeswoman said: “Most cancellations on the Colonsay-Oban route, which has a reliability of 88.5 per cent, are due to poor weather conditions. However, the ferry network has faced a critical situation this week with nine vessels off at the same time at the worst stage. Unfortunately, Colonsay was also affected by this.
“We recognise that CalMac provides a lifeline service to Colonsay and know how important a reliable ferry service is to the community. Through our regular contact with islanders through their community council, we work hard to support their needs as much as possible using the resources we have available to us. This includes running additional sailings when possible if a regular sailing has been cancelled.
She added: “Our ferries are ageing and with that comes less reliability, but with new vessels joining the fleet regularly through to 2029, our ability to provide a more resilient service will be strengthened in the near future.”
Transport Scotland has said the reliability of ferry services will be improved by the arrival of 13 new vessels to the CalMac fleet which are able to operate in more challenging weather and sea conditions. The introduction of the new vessels started with MV Glen Sannox in January 2025.
The rollout of the six new major vessels and seven new small vessels means the Scottish government has invested to renew over a third of CalMac's entire fleet, with work ongoing in investing in ports and harbours to support lifeline ferry services and island communities.
Elsewhere, CalMac confirmed that the return to service of the MV Lord of the Isles early next week had allowed it to review deployment, and it confirmed that it will be able to keep MV Isle of Islay on the Islay crossing to avoid disruption and capacity issues next week.
It had initially been feared that the vessel would have been moved to the Uig-Tarbert/Lochmaddy route after Easter, prompting the Islay Community Council Ferry Committee to write to transport secretary, Fiona Hyslop, and CalMac’s CEO, Duncan Mackison, expressing concern that the island’s service was being “decimated.” The committee is seeking clarification as to how long the MV Isle of Islay will remain on the route and when bookings will be made available
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