AN Argyll and Bute councillor has launched a scathing attack on the Scottish Government’s handling of the CalMac ferry service from Dunoon to Gourock.
Conservative Dunoon ward councillor Daniel Hampsey issued a statement to this newspaper criticising ministers for failing to make any ‘meaningful progress’ on improving the service – describing it as a can which has been ‘kicked down the road.’
Councillor Hampsey, who is also chair of the Cowal Transport Forum described the handling of Calmac’s service as ‘utterly shameful.’
A portion of his statement read: “I have consistently sought to work collaboratively, keeping wider political disagreements at arm’s length when addressing the persistent failings of the Dunoon–Gourock CalMac service.
“However, in light of recent reporting, it is necessary to set out some home truths.
The forum, the council, and our local community can only work within the constraints of the hand we’ve been dealt with. That hand is a bad one. Responsibility for the ferry service, and for the long-running failures associated with it, lies squarely with the Scottish Government.”
Councillor Hampsey also went on to describe how he had previously urged local residents to respond to Transport Scotland’s consultation on ferry services because some proposals were highly damaging, including the removal of earlier sailings which would have made arriving in Glasgow before 9am impossible for commuters and students.
Councillor Hampsey explained: “Engagement from the community was strong, and as a result of that effort, working with the Minister for Transport, Jim Fairlie, we managed to secure what can only be described as the least damaging option. This removed three return sailings, including one already replaced by a bus service. As someone who is not only a councillor but a younger resident who cares deeply about the future of this community, I consider the national handling of our ferry network utterly shameful.
“I vividly recall a meeting held in the Burgh Hall in March 2019, where a member of the public accused the Scottish Government of “kicking the can down the road.” They were absolutely correct. More than six years later, that can has been kicked into the next decade without any meaningful progress.
Other routes across Scotland are receiving new vessels, albeit at considerable cost to the taxpayer, while Dunoon still has no confirmed plans, no timeline, and no funding commitment. We are told only that the Scottish Government wishes to “restate” its support for the route. Warm words do not keep a ferry service running.”
In recent months CalMac’s service from Dunoon to Gourock has suffered serious setbacks, including the withdrawal of MV Argyll Flyer for seven months due to an issue with the vessel’s exhaust. Although the ferry is now running the other vessel MV Ali Cat is out of service for an annual overhaul.
This isn’t the first time CalMac have been forced to run a single vessel service, back in 2021 the route was reduced to one ferry for seven months and in 2023 a Cowal Transport Forum meeting noted that 1,110 sailings had been lost on the Gourock/Dunoon route that year, due to various issues, including linkspan outages.
Councillor Hampsey said: “We have now endured seven months with a single vessel, throughout the vital summer season, leaving a tourism-dependent town with a service that is unreliable and insufficient. This situation is intolerable.
“There will be an election next year and I will not tell anyone how to vote, although it is reasonable to reflect the SNP has held responsibility over the past 18 years. The current service has operated since 2011. Look at what we have today and ask yourself whether it reflects the product of a government that values our community.
“My view is clear. Promises of independence are a carrot dangling approach to hide the failures of government – I’m too old for that trick. No boats, no votes.”
MSP for Argyll and Bute Jnni Minto replied to councillor’s Hampsey’s concerns this week and explained that she has contacted Jim Fairlie.
She said: “The Dunoon-Gourock ferry service is extremely important for the local community and the need to deliver improvements on the service is clear. That is why I have been consistently engaging with constituents and the Scottish Government and following the issues raised in councillor Hampsey’s statement I have written to the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity”
