Question reference: S6W-22149
- Date lodged: 10 October 2023
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 October 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported technical issues with MV Loch Bhrusda, MV Loch Alainn and MV Loch Portain, which have left the Western Isles with no inter-island ferry service, whether it will consider accelerating phase 2 of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme.
Answer
MV Loch Bhrusda and MV Loch Alainn returned to service on 11 and 12 October respectively. During the recent outage of MV Loch Portain, CalMac moved quickly to charter a vessel to provide replacement services.
Early business case development work for the second phase of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme is underway. Further progress will be made early next year as vessel design and feasibility studies will be undertaken as part of the development of the Outline Business Case.