TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE 16 APRIL 2014 WESTERN ISLES FERRY SERVICES Report by Director of Technical Services PURPOSE OF REPORT To provide the Comhairle with an update on matters associated with the delivery of ferry services to the Western Isles. COMPETENCE 1.1 There are no legal, financial, equalities or other constraints to the recommendations being implemented. SUMMARY 2.1 The inaugural meeting of the Outer Hebrides Ferries Task Group, facilitated by the Comhairle, was held on Tuesday 11 March 2014 at which it was agreed that the remit of the Group was to develop and implement a coordinated, structured, fully-informed and evidence-based strategy to engage with Scottish Ministers, Transport Scotland, Caledonian Macbrayne (CalMac), Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and other relevant stakeholders seeking to improve the standard, the capacity, the scheduling and the affordability of ferry services to the Outer Hebrides ensuring the demands and aspirations of all sectors of the community are met. 2.2 The Draft Minute of the meeting and the proposed Action Plan are included at Appendix 1 and 2 respectively to the Report for the information of the Comhairle. 2.3 In addition to the meeting of the Task Group, a meeting of the Hebrides Ferry Users Group, facilitated by HITRANS, was held later that same morning and was attended by senior representatives from Transport Scotland, CalMac Ferries Ltd and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL). The recurring themes between the two meetings were: • The lack of information from and consultation by the ferry operator regarding services to be in place following the introduction of the MV Loch Seaforth on the Stornoway Ullapool route • A significant concern regarding the capacity of the new vessel, particularly in the context of the HITRANS/OHTIA study • The adequacy of the pilot trial of the Mallaig Lochboisdale service 2.4 The Scottish Government Ferries Plan, published in December 2012, gave an undertaking to carry out a comprehensive review of large commercial fares. The inaugural meeting of the Scottish Government Ferry Freight Fares Working Group was held on 24 February 2014. The remit of the review and the associated research work was agreed and focussed on seeking to establish a fares structure for all large commercial vehicles (CVs) across all Scottish Government subsidised ferry services that is simple and transparent, does not advantage one part of the network over any other part, and balances the well-being of communities against the public sector cost. It is also proposed that the outcomes include the development of an over-arching set of principles and procedures for the setting of “other freight” fares across all Scottish Government subsidised ferry services 2.5 The Working Group will oversee the research to be undertaken over the next six months and it is anticipated that the final report will be considered by the Group in Autumn 2014 before forming the basis of advice by Transport Scotland’s Ferries Unit to Ministers. RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Comhairle note the Report. Contact Officers: Iain Mackinnon, Director of Technical Services Background Papers: None Appendices: 1 Minute of Outer Hebrides Ferries Task Group 11 March 2014 2 OHFTG – Draft Action Plan (March 2014) OUTER HEBRIDES FERRIES TASK GROUP 4.1 Following a well-received presentation by representatives from the Outer Hebrides Tourism Industry Association (OHTIA) on behalf of the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in November 2013, the Comhairle agreed to establish a Ferries Task Group to “develop the economic case for additional investment in ferry services serving the Outer Hebrides and to lobby both Transport Scotland and Caledonian Macbrayne to address the shortcomings in capacity of these services”. 4.2 The inaugural meeting of the Task Group was held on 11 March 2014 and the Minute of that meeting is included at Appendix 1 to the Report. 4.3 Subject to the agreement and incorporation of measures for success, it was agreed that the remit of the Group should be to develop and implement a coordinated, structured, fully-informed and evidence-based strategy to engage with Scottish Ministers, Transport Scotland, CalMac Ferries Ltd (CalMac), Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and other relevant stakeholders seeking to improve the standard, the capacity, the scheduling and the affordability of ferry services to the Outer Hebrides ensuring the demands and aspirations of all sectors of the community are met. 4.4 It was also agreed that the membership of the Group was to comprise representatives from the following organisations: • Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CNES) • Highlands and islands Enterprise (HIE) • The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) • Outer Hebrides Commerce Group (OHCG) • Outer Hebrides Tourist Information Association (OHTIA) • Stornoway Port Authority (SPA) • Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) • Uist Community Councils Association (UCCA) 4.5 A brief overview of the results of surveys undertaken by the OHTIA and the FSB was given and it was agreed to invite David Richardson, FSB Development Manager (Highlands and Islands), to the next meeting of the Task Group. 4.6 The key actions for the short to medium term were discussed and a draft Action Plan, to be finalised and agreed at the next meeting of the Group, is included as Appendix 2 to the Report. 4.7 A major concern of the Group relates to an apparent lack of consistency between the capacity issues highlighted in the OHTIA study and CalMac’s suggestion, as made in the letter from its Managing Director of 24 January 2014, that “their methodology is extremely simplistic and it is important to be clear on what it shows because it most definitely does not show capacity constraints on the service”. 4.8 HITRANS has agreed to engage with the OHTIA in carrying out similar research during the Summer period of 2014 and, to reduce the likelihood of any “disconnect” between their survey results and any actual capacity issues found by CalMac, the work will be carried out in collaboration with the ferry operator. 4.9 A further concern of those attending the meeting was a lack of information from and consultation by the primary stakeholders responsible for the delivery of ferry services, ie Transport Scotland, CalMac and CMAL, particularly in the period leading up to the introduction of the MV Loch Seaforth on the Stornoway Ullapool route. The existing consultation arrangements provided for in the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) public service contract through the Hebrides and the Argyll Ferry Users Groups, facilitated by HITRANS were not considered sufficient or fit-for-purpose, specifically as a result of a lack of meaningful engagement and participation by Transport Scotland, CalMac and CMAL in the past. 4.10 This was, however, substantially addressed by the attendance at the meeting of the Hebrides Ferry Users Group held on the same date of senior representatives from Transport Scotland, CalMac and CMAL. 4.11 Details of the proposed arrangements associated with the introduction of the MV Loch Seaforth were provided by CalMac and undertakings were given by representatives that there would be consultation in the period leading up to the publication of timetables for summer 2015. HEBRIDES FERRY USERS GROUP 5.1 A meeting of the Hebrides Ferry Users Group was also held on Tuesday 11 March 2014. As indicated above, the meeting, facilitated by HITRANS, was very well attended by senior representatives from Transport Scotland, CalMac and CMAL. 5.2 Representatives from the Comhairle and other participating bodies were afforded the opportunity to seek clarity from those involved in the operating of the ferry services. A number of recurring themes emerged: • The lack of information from and consultation by the ferry operator regarding services to be in place following the introduction of the MV Loch Seaforth on the Stornoway Ullapool route • A significant concern regarding the capacity of the new vessel, particularly in the context of the HITRANS/OHTIA study • The adequacy of the pilot trial of the Mallaig Lochboisdale service 5.3 It was confirmed that, after its naming and launching ceremony scheduled for Friday 21 March 2014, the MV Loch Seaforth is to enter service on the Stornoway Ullapool route on 8 September 2014, the date on which the 2014 Summer timetable ends. It is proposed that the new vessel will follow the current timetables run by the MV Isle of Lewis and MV Clipper Ranger over the Winter period with two “normal” sailings per day during the day and a single “freight” sailing in the very early morning. 5.4 Representatives from CalMac confirmed that there would be full consultation with stakeholders through the Hebrides Ferry Users Group in developing a new timetable for the Stornoway Ullapool route for Summer 2015. 5.5 It was indicated that the introduction of the new vessel would represent a significant increase in vehicle capacity. Concerns were expressed about the legitimacy of this claim and CalMac confirmed that they would be happy to work with the Comhairle and HITRANS to demonstrate this. They also confirmed that they would be happy to work with HITRANS and the OHTIA in seeking to address the capacity issues highlighted by them in their recent research. 5.6 With regard to the Mallaig Lochboisdale ferry service pilot, it was pointed out by CalMac that the weather and sea conditions over the first winter trial period had been particularly bad and had severely impacted on the frequency of successful sailings. CalMac did point out that this was the first year in a three year trial and asked for patience and the cooperation of the communities during the trial period. 5.7 It was agreed the next meeting of the Ferry Users Group be scheduled for early Autumn 2014.