Passengers on a new £42 million car-ferry that makes the crossing to Stornoway 15 minutes faster than previously are unable to get off for 15 minutes.
There is mounting fury from passengers that despite being in service for several weeks, the MV Loch Seaforth passengers from Ullapool still cannot get off the ferry quickly.
Delays are due to problems operating the new fancy two-level gangway
Exasperated passengers have pointed to operator Caledonian MacBrayne trumpeting how fast the new ferry would be over the former vessel, the MV Isle of Lewis, but they say there is no actual benefit. That is due to problems at the ferry’s berth on recently-upgraded Number Three Pier with adjusting the height of the gangway – known as the Passenger Access System.
One angry passenger, who did not wish to be named, on Saturday night’s sailing into Stornoway said: “That gangway took what seemed like ages to set up and it was a quarter of an hour before we could move. What is the point of being in 15 minutes early when you are then held up by something as basic as that for another 15 minutes? There was no explanation and no apology. Any mariner should be able to calculate tides. It’s a farce.”
Many passengers on Saturday had vowed to complain about the delays, he said.
Retired sea captain Morris Macleod, of Newmarket near Stornoway, has travelled several times already on the new ferry and was also on the Saturday night sailing. He said that the tides and the gangway height could be calculated beforehand but he is also concerned at the lack of pier staff.
“Apparently when the ferry arrives there are just two Stornoway Port Authority operatives assigned to take the mooring ropes ashore. The guy on the bow ropes is responsible for the safety of the linkspan so he cannot leave the bow area.
“That leaves the guy taking the stern ropes also with the job of rushing to the gangway controls to then adjust the height etc., and connect the gangway to the vessel in order for the passengers to disembark. This is causing big delays.”
John Maclennan, the interim chief executive of SPA, confirmed the delays in disembarking passengers had aready been brought to his attention and he said the matter was being addressed. The new infrastructure at Number Three Pier was undergoing daily evaluation during the current “trial period”.
“I am aware that the operation of the Passenger Access System and other operational matters at the upgraded pier may require amendment to achieve optimum turnaround times. Clearly, when the ship arrives at the berth the first requirement is to safely secure the vessel and thereafter place the Passenger Access System in its final position to enable passengers to safely disembark.
“These are two separate tasks and cannot be undertaken simultaneously. We are currently assessing how these procedures may be improved and, if necessary, further staffing resources will be deployed. The safety of staff and persons coming onto the harbour premises is of top priority to the authority and is always the subject of assessment to reduce and where possibly eliminate risk.”
Mr Maclennan confirmed the authority in conjunction with CalMac was closely monitoring the entire operation of all of the new systems in place and would take any steps considered necessary to improve efficiency.
I am amazed at the intelligence of the chief exec when he says that “these are two separate tasks and cannot be undertaken simultaneously”, we would never have figured that one out, my advice is to put your hand in your pocket and have an extra man to operate the gangway
Angry and Furious over a 15 min wait in a warm and comfortable environment…… Aw the poor diddums Maybe anger management classes would help ??
Every account I ve heard is that the journey is considerably smoother . . . But we’re often “angry and furious” according to news . . . . And very much always in hurry . .
ability and commonsense gone awol.just how do you monitor basic stupidity?
The present acting interim Chief Executive had no input into the present access/egress off the passenger transfer system — so it is completely unfair to apportion blame to an innocent third party. This was and is a pie in the sky sysytem agreed to by the previous administration and the present board.( Port operatives and Watchkeepers alike expressed concern long before this system was put in place -at the extra responsibilty placed upon them plus the lack of a ships/calmac watchman to operate the system-they were over ruled. So I suggest that if you the public are looking for “lackeys” you should look at present incumbents within the Harbour Management System and Trustees /who agreed with Cal Mac -who seem to be bullet proof in respect of responsibility -why I dinnae ken — rather than blame the Harbour workforce who have other responsibilities to perform(ie) berthing other vessels – Diving operations – piling operations-supplying fishing vessels with ice- Checking mooorings of all vessels on the pontoons- Regular trips to goat Isand – Isps Security checks etc etc etc. and doing there best to keep the Harbour ticking over.And when you are all in bed do not complain. I with some concern and dismay read the insinuation from so called Ex Master Mariners that watchkeepers employed by SPA are incapable of Calculating tidal heights. Not only can they calculate Tidal Heights—— they have access to — Admirality Easy Tides on Computer -Show predictions Free – Static Tidal Gauge within the Harbour — Tidal curves etc etc— its a joke.—— within the Harbour even a numpty with a ruler can calculate Tidal Heights. Not Rocket Science. Its not Harbour staff responsibility to transfer Passengers from A to B —- this is the sole responsibility of the operater. I have numerous questions as to why Cal Mac staff are not on the ground when there vessels are entering and leaving Port at out of office hours ???????????
They desert there posts akin to rats leaving a sinking ship.Yet they expect Harbour Operatives to be on hand to pick up the slack – D.M
Now now,Donald,
Nothing Ex. Master Mariner about me? I have never claimed to be an Extra Master Mariner, just an ordinary Master Mariner (Foreign-Going). Those of us who went on for Extra’s were either bound for college or as Board of Trade Examiners.
For your information I had already sent a sample of a daily tidal curve from the Admiralty Easy Tide service for the port of Stornoway to Iain with the following explanation of how it could be of use to reduce the waiting time.
“For example from the attached curve the height of tide at the 0700 sailing today is 2.2 meters. The operator makes a note of the height of the gangway from the vertical scale board. From the tidal curve the height of tide at 1300 ferry arrival time is 3.3 metres so prior to arrival of the ferry the gangway height is adjusted to the 0700 height plus 1.1 metre and so on. Thus the gangway height is more or less as required before the vessel docks”.
At no time did I ever insinuate that the port operatives were incapable of this simple method of assessing the required height but clearly they have not been given the tools to do this and the sooner they are the better for the pedestrian passengers arriving at the port of Stornoway
without going into the technical details of the tides, it does not take much ‘evaluation’ or ‘trial period’ to work out that the Ferry operation is now a three man job as opposed to the current two (on most occasions). This explanation from JM reeks of the spin from Calmac spokesman when the Seaforth broke down, that she was allegedly still not ‘fully commissioned’! Come on SPA, get some of your key staff to turn out after-hours to support this lifeline service, as the current farce is impacting on yours and calmacs reputation. The operation of the system should be clearly drawn out in operating procedures from the start and not be subject to evaluation on a daily basis. In their favour, the passenger access system has been conveniently dumped onto the Port in a smart move by Calmac and accepted by a very naive Port Authority! Now SPA has no technical competence in-house to take on this responsibility as they struggle to recruit even a harbour master.
Of course it is not all the fault of the Port. On a recent arrival of the LS in Sy, it took the crew well over 20minutes to complete the mooring operation. as the passenger above has stated, they may cut 15mins of the crossing but then lose all this time whilst the ship moors up. It seems the old habits from the IoL have been transferred across to the LS. Instead of a first class efficient service with focus on timekeeping, the hap-hazard attitude and ‘its only teuchters anyway’ should no longer be acceptable. It wouldn’t do in Dover or Cairnryan, so why should we accept a sloppy service in Stornoway.
Because there are a bunch of folk who think no one should complain about the service. Then there are those who won’t complain for reasons best known to themselves. It’s the ‘armchair mariners are not allowed complain because they don’t know how to drive a boat’ mob that want to stop the rest of us for chasing after CMAL. So, just a few seasoned complainers have a go and are ignored. Some people seem quite happy to accept a sloppy service, and so it goes on. Fifteen minutes soon becomes twenty and then an hour.
Ah well I suppose we must get there quickly to save time, but what do we do with the time we’ve saved ?
Two things simply cannot be done until the ferry is stopped and tied up:
1. Open the bow doors and put down her vehicle ramp.
2. Hook up the Gangway or whatever it’s called these days.
Correct. The fifteen minute delay was following the completion of the berthing operation. Last Saturday all cars had been discharged before the first foot passenger stepped ashore.
Surely even OAP captains know the meaning of delay?- you have to allow some reasonable time after the ship is tied up to place the gadget. what’s reasonable – 6 mins to 10 mins? I don’t know but assuming that the capt’s delay reduces to between 5 and 9 minutes don’t it?