Ferry Isle of Lewis stays on to cope with summer traffic

Alasdair Allan MSP today said the MV Isle of Lewis will be timetabled to sail on Fridays and Saturdays this summer to create extra capacity on the Stornoway to Ullapool route as the MV Loch Seaforth may not be able to cope.

He said it honoured commitments given by transport minister Derek MacKay when he visited Stornoway recently to meet the tourism and haulage industries.

Alasdair Allan on the bridge of the MV Loch Seaforth with Captain John Gillies.

Alasdair Allan said: “With a new vessel on the Stornoway to Ullapool route a number of people in the islands have been in touch with me asking whether use can be made of the previous vessel MV Isle of Lewis to provide extra capacity on the busiest days of the summer period.”

He said it was something which Angus MacNeil and himself had raised with the Scottish Government and which was discussed at the recent meeting in Stornoway with transport minister Derek MacKay.

“While MV Loch Seaforth is a larger vessel than her predecessor there has always been a fear that a bottleneck remained at the height of the tourist season. It’s therefore very positive news that the MV Isle of Lewis will make return sailings on Friday and Saturdays this summer to test whether there is demand which cannot be met on these days by a single vessel.

“I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government has listened to local concerns on this issue and acted on them.”