A Uist business owner has criticised the Calmac boss for not saying sorry about the ongoing ferry chaos.
CalMac’s Robbie Drummond “recognised the situation wasn’t ideal” during a community meeting on Monday.
But Kristina Morrison says there was no direct apology.
The meeting followed local people taking to the streets of South Uist to protest the most recent ferry closures.
CalMac has cancelled the Lochboisdale-Mallaig ferry route until next month.
Issues with other vessels meant that the MV Lord of the Isles was rerouted to fill the gap.
Kristina Morrison, owner of the South Uist takeaway Croft and Cuan, was one of the islanders who met with CalMac managing director Mr Drummond.
Ready for our meeting with @Robbie_Calmac tomorrow.
Whilst the Scottish Gov have got us in the mess, (Snr Mngmt) Calmac have their part to play in the chaos.
Poor management
Poor decision making
Poor communication
Terrible new booking system pic.twitter.com/v85aOQFSEk— Minnie Mo (@Minnie_Mo_) June 11, 2023
She was speaking on Tuesday’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme.
She said: “We tried to put some points across about how much damage it’s doing to the local economy, and to the community as a whole.”
Mr Drummond “said he was here to listen” and “recognised the situation wasn’t ideal”, she said.
But Lochboisdale will still be left without a ferry until July.
In addition, Ms Morrison believes that the South Uist community hasn’t received a proper apology.
“I don’t think he did actually apologise at any point,” she said.
In a statement, Robbie Drummond says that he “offered reassurance that the Lochboisdale service will resume by 1 July at the very latest”.
The meeting, he says, was “constructive”.
CalMac to ‘formally review’ system
“It was important for me to hear first-hand from the community about the importance of the ferry service to the local community, and their understandable anger about disruption to the services to South Uist.”
CalMac has “committed to formally review” the system used to prioritise ferry services during vehicle shortages.
Transport Scotland says that they are “acutely aware of the issues and challenges faced on South Uist.”
“We have made very clear to CalMac that they must continue to explore all avenues to keep this disruption to an absolute minimum,” the spokesperson says. “We are pleased that they too are engaging with the communities involved.”
More local reporting from the Western Isles:
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