Yousaf urges CalMac to minimise disruption as Uist service axed throughout June

The First Minister has insisted that CalMac needs to minimise disruption after the ferry operator cancelled one of its routes for most of this month.

Humza Yousaf conceded there will be a “significant impact” after the state-owned ferry firm announced the service between Lochboisdale on South Uist and the mainland will not run between June 3 and June 30.

CalMac said it needs to use the ferry on that route, the MV Lord of the Isles, elsewhere “due to issues in the network”.

He asked what more ministers can do to “challenge CalMac’s decision”, saying the island has “already seen a third of its services cancelled during the last year”.

Responding, Mr Yousaf acknowledged “anger and frustration” among islanders in relation to the latest route cancellation – which comes as CalMac struggles to keep its ageing fleet of vessels operational.

The First Minister said: “I do recognise the significant impact this particular disruption will have on the communities in Uist.”

He added that transport minister Kevin Stewart has “made very clear to CalMac” that it must keep disruption to a minimum.

Mr Yousaf said: “I will ensure CalMac are exploring every single avenue possible to minimise this disruption as much as they possibly can.”

Western Isles Council, meanwhile, has said the latest cancellation “cannot be allowed to go ahead”.

The council’s transport chairman Uisdean Robertson warned the move will severely impact “every sector of the Uist economy at a time that business is trying hard to recover from the damage already visited on our island by the chaotic service provided by CalMac to Lochboisdale in recent months”.

He called on Mr Stewart to intervene, as he insisted: “This insult added to injury cannot be allowed to go ahead.

“I would urgently ask the transport minister to step in and show he will not be a bystander to Uist’s suffering.”