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Calmac Ferries Limited Minutes

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Calmac Ferries Limited Minutes CALMAC FERRIES LIMITED MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE BOARDROOM, AT THE FERRY TERMINAL, GOUROCK, ON WEDNESDAY 19 JUNE 2013 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Present Mr D C McGibbon, Chairman Mr S Hagan Mr N L Quirk Ms P J D Stark Mr M Dorchester Mr R L Drummond Mr S A Ure In attendance: Mr B Fulton, Operations Director Mr A Collier, Chief Risk Officer Ms C Craig, Head of Marketing and E-Commerce Mr D Cannon, Public Affairs Manager Mr J McCrorie, Pinsent Masons (part-time) Mr E W Smith, Head of Commercial Contracts (part-time) Mr C Paterson, Board Administrator ____________________________________________________________________________________ 1. PRELIMINARIES Mr McGibbon welcomed Mr Fulton, Mr Collier, Mr Cannon and Ms Craig to the meeting. 1.1 Apologies for absence No apologies were required. 1.2 Declarations of interest There were no further declarations of interest, other than those previously made and known to all Directors. 2. MINUTES/MATTERS ARISING 2.1 Minutes of previous meeting In respect of Action 1 of the Meeting Action Points, Mr Fulton indicated that the Mystery Visitor Survey Programme was being prepared for renewal. Ms Dolan is looking at the programme to review the targets. In regard to Action 2, Mr Fulton confirmed that the Retail dept had been working with local suppliers, and that some new meat products had been supplied to vessels. Mr Dorchester noted that he had dealt with Action point 3. The Minutes of the Board Meeting held on 17 April 2013 were approved. 2.2 Matters arising There were no matters to record. 3. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS Mr McGibbon noted that the Iona Pentecost had been very successful and he thanked Mr Cannon for his efforts towards that success. He also thanked Mr Quirk for his input to the celebration. Without the organisational contribution by the Company, it would not have been as successful. He also referred to the event held in the Oban Ferry terminal premises. He added that Councillor Duncan MacIntyre of Argyll & Bute Council had also expressed thanks for the Company’s assistance. Mr McGibbon noted that the second hybrid ferry, Mv Lochinvar, was named and launched at Ferguson’s Shipyard in Port Glasgow on 23 May 2013, with Mr Quirk representing him. Mr McGibbon also noted that the inaugural sailing between Ardrossan and Campbeltown had been very successful. [FOISA Status - Exemption under Section 30 (Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs)] Mr McGibbon noted that the Company had been nominated for three awards at the prestigious Scottish Transport Awards 2013 and congratulated Mr Dorchester and his staff for their efforts. 4. OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 4.1 SAFETY and RISK REPORT Mr Collier presented his paper. He noted that there had been 7 MAIB reportable incidents, none of which the MAIB had required to investigate. He added that it was important to send full and detailed reports. Mr Dorchester enquired whether or not reports should be circulated to the Board. Ms Stark indicated that this could be considered at the Group Safety Committee meeting on 26 June, with a suitable report format to be discussed. Mr Collier noted that there continued to be no specific accident trends, with events and incidents being unrelated. Mr Quirk clarified that the figure shown demonstrated a passenger accident rate of 1.72 per 100,000. [FOISA Status - Exemption under Section 30 (Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs)] Mr Collier referred to the LRQA Audit. He was pleased to note that there were no great concerns about safety across the organisation but was awaiting the full report to address any aspects that required attention. He also was pleased to note that the MCA had renewed the Company’s DOC (Document of Compliance) with only two minor non-conformances. Mr Collier commented on the Internal Audit programme, and was pleased to note that results were improving overall. Mr Dorchester noted that Audit Actions were against Port Mangers and asked if that was appropriate in all cases. He also noted that it would desirable to have KPI safety objectives for Port Managers. 4.2 CHFS CONTRACT PERFORMANCE UPDATE Mr Drummond presented his paper. Key Financial Numbers Mr Drummond summarised the key financial highlights, indicating that the results to April were ‘on plan’ and that they would show the Company breaking even. Turnover was slightly down but costs were level, with trading as per expectations. Mr Drummond noted that the preparation and delay in the introduction of Mv Hallaig had incurred some extra training costs. He also referred to the additional cost increases of berthing dues and the new Campbeltown route. The Board debated the additional costs and the delivery of the new service to meet Transport Scotland’s expectations. [FOISA Status - Exemption under Section 30 (Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs)] Mr Drummond noted that the Year to Date results showed that the actual deficit effect was [FOISA Status - Exemption under Section 30 (Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs)] less than contract and that [FOISA Status - Exemption under Section 30 (Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs)] less subsidy had been required. The Board discussed aspects for reporting on in more detail that they considered would be helpful such as fares and marketing. Mr Dorchester indicated that this could be produced at every second Board Meeting. Mr McCrorie and Mr Smith joined the meeting. [FOISA Status - Exemption under Section 30 (Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs)] 4.3 MARKETING UPDATE AND PR Ms Craig presented her paper. Ms Craig explained the Summer Marketing campaign to the Board. She noted that VisitScotland representatives had attended the Gourock Office the previous day as part of the increased co-operation between the two organisations. She noted that the Big April Adventure campaign to get Scots to travel more had been a success, with 10,000 tickets donated by the Company. TV advertisements had been viewed by 1.3M people and there had been 35,000 entrants to win tickets offered by the Company, ScotRail and others. 7,700 applicants had agreed to accept the Company’s web marketing. 51% of allocated tickets had been utilised. Ms Craig noted that it was a good campaign but that the Company had had to contribute significant effort. VisitScotland competition terms required refining. However she noted that the participation in the campaign had put the Company in good stead with VisitScotland and Transport Scotland. Ms Craig tabled a paper on an Outdoor Digital Campaign. One such example was on digital disply boards in the Glasgow Underground. There were various aspects to consider. Do campaigns encourage people to travel within a short period of time from the advertisement? The results were different where campaigns were longer than 49 days. It was also to be considered how the geography of the island could be conveyed to the public. It was noted that £2.4M of Hopscotch Tickets had been sold in 2012 but it was clear that more and better route combination choices could be offered. Mr Dorchester enquired what was being done to track the carryings on the new Campbeltown route. Mr Fulton agreed to monitor how successfully the route is operating. Ms Craig also noted that Mr Fox was to produce a strategy paper for the next meeting on increasing Commercial Vehicles and Coaches Carryings. The matter of the production of an ‘Events List’ was discussed by the Board in relation to significant cultural events in the Western Isles and on the Clyde and how the Company could be more prepared in the future to increase its profile and contribution to these events. 4.4 TECHNICAL UPDATE (tabled) FLEET MANAGEMENT Fleet Technical Safety Turbocharger Safety Bulletin Mr Ure took the Board through the options in regard to the safe operation of turbochargers on Mv Isle of Lewis and Mv Caledonian Isles, following a Safety Bulletin issued by the manufacturer. The only safe solution was to purchase new gas casings or complete units and Mr Ure would engage with CMAL about capital purchase of the required parts. Additional item Mr Ure noted that there was still the matter of an outstanding warranty claim with CMAL which had been unresolved for 2½ years. NEW BUILD PROGRAMME UPDATE Hybrid vessels Mr Ure noted that Lloyds Register had reported that they still awaited the Shipyard and CMAL to respond to their queries about the completion programme and commissioning of the first vessel. Ullapool overnight noise complaint Mr Ure was disappointed to note that Highland Council had reported further complaints from local residents about noise levels. The area Environmental Health Officer had been tasked with determining the extent of the problem and whether or not double glazing units would assist in eliminating the issue. Ullapool/Stornoway replacement vessel Hull 764 Mr Ure noted that some issues remained outstanding around the service reliability of the new vessel Mv Loch Seaforth and manoeuvring abilities in port. [FOISA Status - Exemption under Section 30 (Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs)] The Board noted the delays in the Hybrid Vessel build programme and the resultant problems for the Company in not being able to produce a detailed operator’s assessment of the vessel in the approach to the winter period. The Board also discussed the Mv Loch Seaforth issues and the Company’s relationship with CMAL. Mr Dorchester confirmed that he would continue to raise new build issues with CMAL and that he was also keeping Transport Scotland fully briefed. 5. PROGRESS FOCUS 5.1 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT UPDATE Mr Drummond noted that at a recent Contract meeting with Transport Scotland, Ms J Ainsley, Head of Policies and Contracts, Ferries Unit, was unable to attend and the staff who were representing Transport Scotland did not appear to be entirely briefed.
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