Surely a good thing for Arran?
Arran Islanders are a sophisticated ferry travelling bunch. The Arran Banner letters page proves this fact. The ferry is not just a transport lifeline, it sustains business + jobs + mortgages + the cost of living on Arran. Islanders care passionately about the ferry services. They are well read on this subject because it matters.
So the following two concepts will resonate on the island.
A] True Fuel Efficiency: Remove Ship Cabins. Instead, Buy Houses in Ardrossan.
The new MV Glen Sannox is reputed to have 34 crew cabins. For a 55 minute route, these are NOT needed and completely ruin the very EXPENSIVE eco fashion fuel system that is being installed.
Imaging your car towing 34 caravans, all at the same time behind you. Then some bright sparks from CalMac HQ and CMAL engineering recommend you buy an electric Prius car to save the planet. But still tow 34 caravans. Then Fergusons struggle to make it work. Your £47,000,000 Prius costs rise to £60,000,000 and the contraption doesn’t work very well!
To top it all off, your Prius only does 2 miles per gallon with all those pointless caravans attached to it’s erse!
Okay, we torture the analogy, but the naval architect needs to remove all the heavy cabins off of the next ships and lighten the load. Instead, buy houses and flats in Brodick and Ardrossan for crew digs.
B] Four Medium Sized Ships For Arran Will Create More Seafarer Jobs At No Extra Cost
The old 1985 built MV Hebridean Isles has 24 crew (here and here). The more modern MV Pentalina sails from the mainland to Orkney has a crew of just 10 (here). Long story short, taking into account crew rosters, annual leave and shift patterns, 4 modern MEDIUM SIZED FERRIES will likley create ADDITIONAL jobs for seafarers.
Better still, the fuel savings from removing all of the surplus cabins will help pay for several extra seafarer jobs – ideally for Brodick base crew.
A more exotic ship displacement-v-fuel consumption theorem (here) opens up a debate on vessel operating costs. There is an argument that the hybrid fuel systems of the new MV Glen Sannox are economical, but at £47,000,000 per ship, there is a more complex study required. The MV Glen Sannox will only carry 127 cars whilst MV Caledonian Isles can muster a respectable 110 cars. The old MV Isle of Arran has a sweet spot of 76 cars. Multiply the latter by 4 ships of a medium sized class and you have a 304 car capacity (4 x 76) with lower fuel displacement challenges.
Possibly a job for the Auditor General of Scotland (here) to study and report back in order to test the case for 4 medium sized ferries for Arran.
If this standard ship class design works for Western Ferries further up the Clyde, then why not Arran? Albeit with larger ships for Arran than Western Ferries operate out of McInroy’s Point?
There is also the sensitive matter that Western Ferries and Pentland Ferries receive NO operating subsidy and NO capital subsidy.
Whereas CalMac currently have a contract that the taxpayer is spending £975,000,000 upon.
How many schools and hospitals and doctors + teachers and nurses would a slice of that one billion pound pay for?
If you have a view on this, please consider helping us find a way forward that works for islanders, local employers, CalMac and preserves the Lifeline Ferry service, please get in touch:-