In a response to a petition urging the nationalisation of Clydeport, CalMac Ferries Ltd. has raised serious concerns over the current state of infrastructure at Ardrossan Harbour, managed by Peel Ports.
The submission underscores a series of ongoing issues that could influence future decisions regarding the management of ports along the River Clyde.
“The facilities at Ardrossan have not been maintained to an acceptable standard,” stated Duncan Mackison, Interim Chief Executive of CalMac, in the submission. He detailed the “continuing deterioration” of the Ardrossan berths, emphasising that the lack of investment has significantly impacted the operation and safety of ferry services.
Highlighting the operational challenges, CalMac described how the poor condition of infrastructure has led to reduced services and compromised safety.
“There has been a continuing deterioration in the condition of both berths (Arran and Irish berths) over many years, brought about by a lack of investment in the maintenance of this piece of critical infrastructure,” Mackison noted.
The submission goes on to list specific issues such as a vulnerable fendering system and unresolved defects, which have not only led to the complete closure of the Irish berth but also forced CalMac to reroute its services. This rerouting has resulted in reduced sailing frequencies from Troon to Brodick, adversely affecting the number of daily return sailings.
Over the past decade, CalMac has paid a staggering £15,480,000 in fees for the use of the berths, split into berthing and traffic dues. Despite this substantial outlay, the necessary reinvestment in harbour maintenance appears lacking argue the ferry firm.
The ferry operator stressed the broader implications of poor infrastructure management, pointing out that “Our overriding priority is that the onshore infrastructure is kept in a fully working and operational state and that these assets are properly maintained to ensure that poor infrastructure is not responsible for reducing services for our customers, negatively impacting the economies of west coast communities.”
The document was submitted in response to the petition PE2029/M, which proposes bringing Clydeport under public ownership. While CalMac did not take a definitive stance on the ownership issue, they emphasised the critical need for any harbour owner to maintain facilities to a high standard to ensure operational continuity and safety.
It is perversely hypocritical of CalMac to blame Peel Ports for failings in port infrastructure maintenance, particularly in the Clyde area. Whilst it’s well known that Peel Ports will always put Liverpool first, CalMac consistently refuse to acknowledge their own failings when it comes to servicing the islands on the West Coast of Scotland. The SNP don’t help either. They refuse to allow open competition when it comes to ferry services for the outer Hebrides. They are also far too slow at acknowledging that many of the CalMac ferries are past their use-by-date. Talk to Clyde-based employees of Peel Ports… Read more »
Politicians are generally not business litterate, the % of them in the UK that have actually had real job is staggeringly low, and those that have actually run something successfully in the private sector is even lower.
Calmitous nationalised ferry company critisises private port company. Perhaps they need to outsource running of the port to Turkey 🙂
Is £15mil staggering? I’ve no idea what the running costs are for Ardrossan let alone those for the improvements CalMac seek; do you? And why invest if the port will be redeveloped shortly? The Arran ferry situation is fiasco followed by farce. Even if the new MV Glen Sannox comes into service later this year it will not be able to use Ardrossan because the port improvements required to allow it to operate there & agreed six years ago have yet to start. Not only can’t the Scottish Government, CalMal, CalMac build ferries on time & budget but they can’t… Read more »