Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

£1.7million berthing project makes Kerrera ferry more reliable

Island of Kerrera in Oban Bay
Island of Kerrera in Oban Bay

The ferry service to the island of Kerrera in Oban Bay is now more reliable in bad weather thanks to a £1.7million investment.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) has completed an upgrade to the ferry berthing facilities, which got underway in January.

A new breakwater and slipway extensions at Kerrera and Gallanach will improve the service in poor weather and remove previous restrictions on freight and deliveries caused by low tides.

CMAL, which owns ferries and 26 port and harbour facilities on the west coast of Scotland, worked in partnership with the local community to agree the plans for the upgrade.

The consultation led to a change in the breakwater design from large boulders to a structure where a lifeboat can moor alongside to allow medical evacuation. This will significantly reduce response time, potentially saving lives.

Minister for Transport and the Islands Humza Yousaf said: “I am very pleased to see the work at Kerrera is now complete and the community can start to reap the benefits of the upgraded berthing facilities.

“The new breakwater and extended slipways will lessen the impact of difficult weather conditions and remove tidal restrictions, improving ferry resilience and allowing a better flow of vessels on the route. I recently visited the works myself and saw first-hand the significant impact that these new facilities will have.

“The Scottish Government has pledged to provide the best possible ferry services for the communities that rely on them, and this investment is further proof of that commitment.”

Ruairidh Campbell, project manager at CMAL, said: “We are delighted to see the completion of this significant project on time and within budget.

“The changes mean that the local community has access to an unrestricted service, which will make life easier for islanders who rely on the services, for example, farmers who take their livestock to market on the mainland.

“The new breakwater improves the resilience of the ferry service in poor weather, making cancellation and delays less likely for weather-related reasons, which is reassuring for those who travel daily to the mainland for school and work.

“The work at Kerrera is part of our ongoing commitment to develop and maintain our port and harbour infrastructure to provide safe and efficient lifeline ferry services to communities around Scotland.”