The big excitement this month around the Harbour has been the pods and pods of dolphins which have been seen throughout the month, all around the area. Those of us lucky enough to live in Mallaig have even been watching them from our houses. They have been very playful, and it’s been easy to see where they got their Gaelic name ‘Leumadair’, which is from leum – to jump! Such large pods of dolphins are always a good sign of lots of feeding in the water, which bodes well for our local fishing fleet.

A few months ago we had a film crew around the Harbour, filming local fisher(wo)man, Erin MacKenzie. The result of this filming was a new documentary, part of the ‘Our Lives’ series on BBC, ‘Female Fishermen – Beyond the Buoys’. If you missed it, you can catch up on iplayer.

Those of you familiar with the ice plant will know that it has never worked as successfully as we hoped, and that over the years, we have had various issues with it. However, we suspect that this month’s issues will not be recurring very often. During the heatwave over the weekend of the 12^th and 13^th July, the compressors could not cope with the heat! Despite Hugh and Danny’s best efforts over the weekend, knowing that we had 12 tonnes of ice due to go out on the Monday, we had to admit defeat and call in the Engineer, who reported several similar issues throughout Scotland that weekend, all caused by the heatwave!

The Marina has continued to be busy throughout the month, with 427 overnight stays, almost the same as last year’s 423. I mentioned a few months ago that Scottish Seafarms had installed a public access defibrillator at their offices across from the Harbour Office, and that we were relocating ours to the Marina to provide some coverage at that end of the village. Thanks to Colin and Callum King, this is now installed in a prominent position on the front of the Marina office, and is accessible 24/7.

By the time you read this, we will hopefully have both the Coruisk and the Lord of the Isles back on service from Mallaig. The Coruisk returned to service on Friday 25^th July, followed by the Lord of the Isles on Saturday 26^th July, and both are due to operate their normal services throughout August and until 7^th September. Details of what services will operate from then to the end of the summer timetable in October will be published in early August.

We hosted another meeting of the Sound of Sleat Ferry Users Group on 9^th July, and there is an article in our local newspaper West Word about the group, and what it aims to achieve. There is also a link to a short survey, and we are encouraging all local businesses and organisations who are impacted by ferry disruption to please complete the survey. This will give the group evidence to strengthen our voice in discussions with CalMac. I was able to meet with Kate Forbes MSP on 22^nd July, and one of the topics for our discussion was the ferry services, and the infrastructure required in Mallaig going forward to support them.

On 13^th July, some of you may have seen the Tall Ship Shtandart sailing past the Harbour and into Loch Nevis. TS Shtandart was built in Russia, as a replica of the 1703 Frigate commissioned by Peter the Great, and launched in 1999. She was originally making her way to Aberdeen to join the Tall Ships Race. However, due to sanctions imposed when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, which were extended to include replica ships in June 2024, TS Shtandart is not permitted to dock in British Ports, including Aberdeen, and therefore was refused permission to formally participate in the Tall Ships Race. If you want to read more about both sides of the argument, you can access the TS Shtandart website at https://shtandart.eu/ and the ‘No Shtandart in Europe’ website at https://bernardgrua.net/. The ship’s berthing in Loch Nevis did result in a morning of seeking advice from various sources and a bit of a moral dilemma for us in Mallaig as to whether we would allow them to berth and take water if requested. In the end we were thankful that the request did not come, and that Shtandart sailed off North.

The Screen Machine is due to visit from 18^th to 20^th August. Both the Harvest Station and the FSV Scotia have been very busy discharging salmon, in the evening and overnight. This means that there are 20+ Ferguson’s tankers each night, and a lot of activity in the area where we would normally park the Screen Machine. As a result, we are looking at alternative areas for the August visit, which will be safer for those visiting the cinema, and less noisy. Keep an eye on our Facebook page nearer the time for more details of the location.

Finally this month, a wee reminder that we still have some funding left in our Community Funds. Funds are be available to groups based in the Mallaig Area, who operate on a not for profit basis,  are either constituted or incorporated, and who have a dedicated bank account for the organisation. The project being supported should have demonstrable community benefit for the Mallaig area. We can consider support to organisations who are open to a wider community area than purely Mallaig, as long as these organisations can demonstrate benefit to the community in Mallaig. There is a little over £1,000 left, and the closing date for applications for the September Board meeting is 15th August 2025, and for the December meeting is 7^th November 2025. If you would like the link to the form (which is very simple to complete) please email me at jacqueline@mallaigharbourauthority.com

Jacqueline McDonell

We’re delighted to be able to report that the new solar powered light has arrived and been installed at the lighthouse, so it is back operational again. Thanks to our own Harbour staff and to Colin and Callum King for their support with this. The new system was designed by Hydrosphere, and comes with the ability for us to keep a check on how well it is performing in various weather states. We were hopeful that this would not be an issue throughout the summer months, but there hasn’t been much sun lately! There are two separate batteries in the system, each providing back up for 30 days – so we have backup to keep the system running for 60 days.

Fishing landings have tailed off a bit in June, with fewer of the larger visiting boats, although some of our more regular visitors have once again been landing locally. The Aquaculture side has been busy though, with a lot of well boat traffic through June which has kept the Outer Harbour busy.

The Marina has also been busy, and we have welcomed back some of the charter yachts, with Eda Frandsen, Bessie Ellen, Lady of Avanel, Selkie and Silurian all using the Harbour and Marina at various points throughout the month. We also had a visit from the superyacht Moonstone’s tenders, while she was moored up Loch Nevis on Friday 20^th June. ‘Moonstone’ is 79.2m in length, which is around 1.5 times the length of the Ronja Commander! She is owned by American billionaire brothers Rob and Richard Sands, and her tenders were around the same size as many of the visiting yachts at the Marina. We were not quite at the end of June as I was writing this, but looking at May’s figures for the Marina, it is shaping up to be a good year, with 59 overnight stays in April and 246 in May, compared to 24 in April and 170 in May last year. Hopefully this will continue and we’ll have earned a good contribution towards the cost of the new pontoon fingers by the end of the season!

John and I took a trip to Stornoway for the Scottish Ports Group meeting on the 11^th and 12^th June. While we were there, Stornoway Port Authority had a visit from their biggest cruise vessel of the year, the ‘Brittania’, which is 330m long. We were lucky enough to get right down onto the new deep water terminal, to see her up close. The new facility in Stornoway is very impressive – although it cost around £40million they have been able to achieve a huge amount with the money, including a 360m long berth and 6.5 hectares of laydown space. John and I were quite envious! We did a wee tour of Ports on our way there and back, ticking off Armadale, Uig, Tarbert, Stornoway and Ullapool, and taking note of what worked at each of them! We have more limited space in Mallaig but did come away with a few ideas for things we would like to see around the Harbour.

It was straight back from Stornoway for our AGM on Friday 13^th June. This year marked the retirement of Lorna Spencer as a Board Member. Lorna and Jim Wilson had both served their second terms, but Jim has agreed to stay on and support us with our aspirations to reduce the carbon footprint of the Harbour. We are very grateful to Lorna for all the support she has given us, not only in the last six years as a Board Member, but also previous to that in her former role with CMAL. Although Lorna has retired as a Board Member, she will still be working with us at Mallaig Harbour Authority, providing support with our obligations under the Port and Marine Facilities Safety Code. Lorna’s retiral left a vacancy, and we have appointed Karen Johnston, who brings a wealth of experience in the Aquaculture industry with her; and who we are looking forward to having as a member of the Board going forward. 

As with other years, I had prepared a short presentation for the AGM, looking at what we had achieved over the year, and our future plans. In some ways this has been a very frustrating year, with the postponement of the works to the overnight ferry berth, and the closure of the Boatyard after Harland and Wolff fell into administration. However, we have managed to achieve some smaller (but often just as important) projects over the year, and it’s good to reflect on these as well. These included the demolition of the old ice factory; the installation of 5 new pontoon fingers; the purchase of Unit 15 (Andy Race’s Building); and the creation of new shower facilities for fishermen in the Prawn Market. We have a small but hard-working team, who often go above and beyond to make sure that not just the Harbour, but the wider community, functions well. This was recognised by the Chair, who thanked the team for all their work over the year.

Our focus for this coming year will once again be the overnight ferry berth, along with redeveloping Unit 15 and trying to find a resolution for the boatyard to bring it back into some sort of economic use. Last year, we had put together an infographic with some key facts from the Economic Impact Assessment. Everyone agreed that this was a useful format, so I have created something similar for this year, which is published below. 

Jacqueline McDonell

Unfortunately, the Lighthouse is still not operational. We have ordered a new solar set up so we are hoping that it will be back up and running within the next few weeks. In the meantime, we are still asking vessels to please take extra care on the approach to Mallaig. The green buoy is still flashing to mark the edge of the channel, providing navigational guidance, and thankfully most vessels using the Harbour are familiar with the approach, but the warnings about the light not being operational are still in force at the moment.

The visiting fishing vessels have continued to land in Mallaig throughout April. We have some smaller visiting vessels using the harbour, as well as larger vessels landing occasionally. Looking at the landings for the financial year ended March 2025, the value of all species landed through Mallaig was just over £5.065million. This is the first time since I began working at the harbour in 2019 than landings have been valued above £5million. By far the majority of the value landed is in shellfish (£4.695 million), with the remainder in white fish and sprats. For the year, around £280k of white fish was landed, with £113k of this landed in February this year by visiting fishing vessels!

The solar panels have yet to be installed, but we are hoping that by the time you read this, they will have been, and that there will have been some sun to make them worthwhile!  Loch Shell Engineering have poured the concrete for two of the pillars under Jary’s Wharf, and the contractors were back on site for the spring tides at the end of April to continue works, and hope to finish the last pillar at the end of May.

We’ve engaged an architect to draw up plans to subdivide Unit 15 on the Industrial Estate (formerly occupied by Andy Race). In the meantime, the contractors working on the Co-op building in Mallaig are using it for their base while they replace the compound at the rear of the shop.

The new pontoon fingers have been installed at the Marina. We managed to take a photograph of them just after installation, probably the only time that they will ever all be empty at one time!  We’ve had a pretty slow start to the season, despite the good weather in the run up to Easter.  

The disruption on the ferry service continues. The Loch Fyne came back in to service in Mallaig on Monday 28th April, and will be operating as a single vessel service. This was initially due to be until Monday 16^th June, but latest information is that the Coruisk will not be operational from Mallaig before 5^th July. Meanwhile, we are hopeful that sailings to Lochboisdale will resume on Thursday 15^th May. The changing picture is a challenge, especially for our Tourism businesses, and if anyone would like to be involved in the newly established ‘Sound of Sleat Ferry User’s Group’, then please get in touch.

In more positive ferry news, the Transport Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, announced at a ‘Crisis Summit’ in Lochboisdale, that the funding for the procurement of a new vessel to replace the Lord of the Isles had been included in the Scottish Government’s budget for 2025/26. Mallaig Harbour Authority have been involved in the working group for this replacement ferry, and the business case is due to go before Transport Scotland in May 2025.  The replacement vessel will have implications for the infrastructure in Mallaig, so we are currently undertaking some investigative works to determine the most appropriate way forward in providing new infrastructure. We have also resubmitted our business case to Transport Scotland for the overnight ferry berth with the hope that this will be approved and works can start in September.

The British Ports Association’s ‘Fishing Ports Group’ meeting took place in Grimsby on 9^th and 10^th April. Unfortunately, this was just before our Board Meeting on the 11^th so I was unable to attend, but John MacPhee went to represent Mallaig Harbour. Despite some challenges with public transport (trains rather than ferries this time!) he enjoyed his visit, and was made very welcome by Martin and Danny from Grimsby Fish Market.

All the works being undertaken on the Harbour have given Rob Fairley some new subjects to draw, and his exhibition of people working around the Harbour over the years is currently running in Mallaig Heritage Centre, and will be until the end of the year. The cost of the infrastructure for this exhibition was one of the projects that we agreed to support when our Board met to discuss the applications for funding in April. We had applications totalling £11,300 for a budget of £5,000 so we had some tough decisions to make, and inevitably, some of the applicants would have been disappointed by the outcome. In addition to £1,000 to Mallaig Heritage Centre, we agreed to fund £500 for Mallaig and District Men’s Shed to purchase tools and equipment; £400 for Mallaig Pool and Leisure to buy equipment for swimming lessons; £900 for Mallaig High School pupils French Trip; £300 for a new shed at the Mackintosh Centre, and to continue our sponsorship of Mallaig FC with an award of £1,500. We do still have some funding available to be allocated throughout the year, so please get in touch if you have a project that you would like us to consider supporting.  

Jacqueline McDonell

Those of you who live in Mallaig may have noticed that we have an issue with the Lighthouse at the moment. Sometimes it’s not lit at all, and sometimes it is flashing erratically. The Harbour Master and his Deputy have done a bit of investigation along with Colin King and we have established that the fault is with the cable running from the Outer Harbour to the lighthouse, so we are currently looking at whether we should repair this, or whether a better option is to install solar power to the light and hopefully future proof it. In the meantime, we are asking vessels to please take extra care on the approach to Mallaig. Thankfully most vessels using the Harbour are familiar with the approach, but we have issued warnings about the light not being reliable.

We’ve had a number of visiting fishing vessels throughout March, bringing a welcome boost to the month’s landings, and ensuring that the Outer Harbour has been busy. We had a nifty bit of berthing from the Ronja Challenger on 12^th March, when she slipped in ahead of the Endeavour, who was landing.

The old Denholms Ice Plant has now been demolished, so the skyline has changed in the Outer Harbour. The work has been undertaken by David Morton (Larbert) Ltd., who have done a great job.

The solar panels have arrived for the feed store, and will hopefully be installed the second week of April. The Harbour Staff and Colin King have been undertaking some preparatory works, including getting the cables in place between the feed shed and the power shed.  Meanwhile, the works to Jary’s Wharf have been delayed. These are tidal, so we are not sure when they will happen now! The area of the pier where they are due to take place is looking very clear and tidy, and Milligan Transport have been relocated to the end of the fish pier for the duration of the works.

The Marina re-opened on Monday 31^st March for the season, and we are pleased to welcome back Gena McLean again. We’re also pleased to welcome Jacob Coleman-Hallsworth, who is working with us for the season. The first week open will be slightly chaotic as five new pontoon fingers are being installed on the boatyard side of the Marina. This will allow us to do a bit of rearranging of some of the vessels using the pontoon, and make more room for visiting yachts.

We hosted the first meeting to establish a Ferry User’s Group on 7^th March, and the second one is due to take place on 3^rd April. Initially this will focus on the Mallaig/Armadale run, and we have decided it should be known as the Sound of Sleat Ferry User’s Group. We recognise that some of the issues are wider than the Mallaig/Armadale route and so there will be some crossover with the Small Isles and Lochboisdale routes. This will be especially true for Tourism accommodation businesses locally, where disruption on any of the routes may result in cancelations.  

On 20^th March two of the Board and I attended the ‘West Highland Vision’ conference, which was organised by the West Highland Chamber of Commerce, in association with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and took place in the West Highland Cinema in Fort William. It was an interesting day, in particular listening to the potential opportunities arising from the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, and the SSE Transmission works to be undertaken. While these are important opportunities for the Highlands, the challenge will be to ensure that the West Coast also benefits from the works.

It’s the time of year where we advertise for new Board Members. We have two Board Members who have served their second term, and who could be reappointed by exception. However, we are advertising to see whether there are others who might be interested in being appointed to the Board, and who might bring different skills to the table. You can find the advert elsewhere in this website and in West Word.

Jacqueline McDonell

This month started with a morning at Mallaig High School undertaking mock interviews with some of the senior pupils. I was amazed by the confidence of the pupils and the range of careers that they are hoping to pursue! The event was organised by Developing Young Workforce, which is part of the newly expanded West Highland Chamber of Commerce.

We had a visiting fishing vessel, the Venture on 24^th February. As you can see from the picture, it’s the largest fishing vessel we have seen in a few years, and was landing Monkfish. We’ve also had a larger vessel, the Aqua Transporter, loading smolts from the Harbour over the last month or so.

By the time you are reading this, the demolition of the old Denholms Ice Plant will be underway. The contractors arrived on Monday 4^th March to set up, and the actual demolition will start on Wednesday 6^th, and is expected to take three weeks. The site will be fenced off throughout the process, but we will take lots of photos to document the demolition! While it will be sad to see the building disappear, it will give us the opportunity to look at redeveloping the area in the future.  We are hopeful that there will be a few visible signs of progress around the Harbour by the end of March, including the solar panels on the feed shed.

We have also had contractors up looking at the piling beneath ‘Jary’s Wharf’ – the area where Milligan Transport currently load, and where the fish boxes are stored. We hope to undertake strengthening of three of the piles during the spring tides at the end of March and April, with more work to be undertaken after the summer. This won’t be visible, but it is important for us in maintaining the structural integrity of the pier!

On Thursday 7^th March, we are hosting the first meeting to establish a Ferry User’s Group. This has become very pertinent with the publication of the information on disruptions to the Summer timetable between Mallaig and Armadale and Mallaig and Lochboisdale. From 28^th March to 11^th April, the MV Loch Bhrusda will be operating a single vessel service. From 12^th April to 15^th May, the MV Loch Fyne will be operating a single vessel service, and from 16^th May until the MV Isle of Mull comes back on service, the Loch Bhrusda and Loch Fyne will operate on the route. We expect that there will be a service between Mallaig and Lochboisdale from 9^th April until 22^nd April, then the service will operate to Oban from 23^rd April to 14^th May. The Lord of the Isles is due back on service between Mallaig and Lochboisdale from 15^th May.  If anyone is interested in being part of the Ferry User’s Group, then please get in touch, and I can make sure that you are kept updated.

The deadline for expressions of interest in Andy Race’s building has now passed, so we have a clearer idea of how the space might be used. It’s likely that we will be able to provide space for three businesses to operate from the building. In the meantime, the Harbour Staff have done a great job of clearing around the outside (and a bit of the inside), ready for development.

We have had another visit from Border Force to the Harbour recently. Although Mallaig Harbour Authority does not have a statutory need to publish a Modern Slavery Statement, we have decided that we should have a formal policy. This was approved by our Board at the February meeting, and will be made publicly available around the Harbour and online.

Scottish Seafarms have now installed a defibrillator, which is available for public use, on the exterior of their building on the Harbour. As a result, we have moved our defibrillator from the inside of the Harbour Building round to the exterior of the Marina building (at the top of the pontoon). This will mean that there is easier access for any incidents that might occur either on the pontoon or on East Bay.

Lastly, another wee reminder that we have formalised the process for allocating funds to community groups and projects. The first deadline for applying for funds is 14^th March, to be decided at our meeting on 11^th April, and you can find all the details on our Facebook page.

Jacqueline McDonell

Mallaig Harbour Authority have recently purchased Andy Race’s Building, and are intending to create processing space within the building. At the moment, our intention is to split the building into two units, provisionally along the line in the plan below. There is also upstairs space, which could be leased along with the downstairs units, or potentially separately.

Before we start the renovations, we are looking for expressions of interest from anyone who would be interested in renting space. The building is zoned for food processing, and therefore businesses operating in this sector will take priority.

If you would be interested in renting all or part of this processing space please contact Jacqueline either by phone 01687 462154 or email Jacqueline@mallaigharbourauthority.com for more information and to arrange a viewing. Closing date for expressions of interest will be Friday 28^th February 2025 at 5pm.

Expressions of interest should set out what size of space you would be looking for, any requirements associated with this space (e.g. three phase electricity / freezer space / welfare facilities required etc.), as well as what the space will be used for; what employment will be associated with the use of the building and whether the business is seasonal or year round. They should be accompanied by a business plan which demonstrates that the business will generate sufficient revenue to meet costs associated with the use of the building. It would also be useful to understand any permissions that will be required to operate your business and any constraints associated with these.

We anticipate several expressions of interest, so the allocation will be a competitive process.

As I am writing this, the Sprat pump is due to be dismantled for another year. Landings of Sprats continued into the last week of January, although again the quality was mixed. Looking at the landings for the last calendar year, the trend is still improving after 2020 and 2021 which were blighted by covid and Brexit, and the value of fish landed in 2024 was actually slightly up on 2018. Let’s hope that the trend continues!

John MacPhie is settling in well as Deputy Harbour Master, and has already proved his worth by sourcing a second-hand Yokohama fender to replace one damaged during storm Eowyn on 24^th January, and getting it delivered and installed the same week!  John accompanied myself, and Board Members David MacDonald and Peter Hillier to the Parliamentary Reception hosted by the British Ports Association and the UK Chamber of Shipping at Holyrood on 14^th January. This was a great opportunity to meet others in the industry, and hear about the opportunities and challenges. It also gave John the opportunity for a tour round the chamber and to try out the First Minister’s chair for size!

Our Harbour Master, Pimmy, turned 75 this month so we had the customary cake, and the photo below shows John presenting Pimmy with the cake. Audrey was able to look back and find photos from Pimmy’s 60^th, 65^th and 70^th birthday, so we shared these on social media, which resulted in lots of good wishes being sent for Pimmy.

We have managed to make progress with some of our smaller projects this month. We have signed a contract for the installation of solar panels on the feed shed. These will primarily feed electricity around the Harbour, but will include some battery storage so that we can manage demand. We also received the Marine Licence for the extension to the pontoons, so this work will take place in March. We met with the contractor who will demolish the Ice Plant this month, and they are aiming to start work at the end of February. The works will take a minimum of three weeks, and there will be some disruption around the area, as they will need space to work and space to laydown the materials from the building etc.

Some of you may be aware that we have been in discussion to buy Unit 15, which Andy Race has operated for many years as a fish processing factory. Andy has retired and was unable to sell on the business, but I’m pleased to say that Mallaig Harbour Authority has now bought the building. We intend to renovate the building, making it a bit more energy efficient, and potentially to sub-divide it so that more than one business can operate from the building. It’s a big space, and we would like to see local businesses benefitting from it, so you will see on a separate post, we are inviting expressions of interest from anyone who would like to be considered as a potential tenant for the space. Realistically, it will take us several months to get the works done, so we are probably looking at space being available from September of this year, but any expressions of interest received will help inform what we do with the building.  

The Loch Nevis has now returned to service, and we are awaiting the publication of the summer timetables for the Mallaig routes. The Mallaig Armadale route in particular is causing some consternation as it is likely that we will start the summer timetable in March with a single vessel, as the Coruisk will be required elsewhere. There was a lot of discussion last year about the timetable when the Coruisk is not in service in Mallaig, and the fact that the Loch Fyne was not timetabled to sail until mid-morning. It looks like a similar timetable is going to be published for this summer season, which will make commuting between Mallaig and Skye impossible. I have mentioned before the suggestion of a Ferry Users Group locally, and we have been in discussion with the Chamber of Commerce about the establishment of such a group. The Chamber of Commerce have widened their reach to include Skye and Lochalsh, Wester Ross and North Argyll, and have rebranded as West Highland Chamber of Commerce, so it makes sense to involve them in any such group, as they represent the interests of businesses at either end of the Skye and Small Isles routes. As soon as we have a date for a meeting, I will publicise it on our Facebook page.

Those of you who are observant will have noticed a new vessel in the Harbour this month. The Terschelling has been moored up at Airor for a number of years, before being purchased by Jarren and Johanna, who run The Polarship GMBH https://thepolarship.com/. They are taking Terschelling to Troon to dry dock, and, when work is completed, it will be sailed to Greenland to run Artic Expeditions. Terschelling was built in the Netherlands in 1963, originally to serve as a buoy layer and lightship tender for the Dutch Coastguard. It is being renovated to provide six en-suite cabins and a spacious saloon for guests.

Lastly, a wee reminder that we have formalised the process for allocating funds to community groups and projects. The first deadline for applying for funds is 14^th March, to be decided at our meeting on 11^th April, and you can find all the details on our Facebook page.

Jacqueline McDonell

Happy New Year everyone! It feels like Déjà vu as I had written last year that after a relatively calm period at the start of December, the wind and rain returned for the end of the month, and the same has been true of this December. However, after Hogmanay, it’s been a calmer start to January, and on Monday 6^th, the first sprats were landed for 2025. Once again, the Caralisa is the only vessel fishing for Sprats, and while there were regular landings throughout December, the size, and therefore quality, of the catch has been mixed.

In part due to the weather, and in part due to uncertainty over vessel movements, which then made it too late to organise, we didn’t have fireworks from the Ronja vessels this New Year, which disappointed some of those who live in Mallaig, as it has become a bit of an annual tradition.  

Our big news this month is that we are delighted to have appointed a new Deputy Harbour Master, John MacPhie, who will start with us on 20^th January. We had changed the criteria this time round, which resulted in a really strong pool of local candidates to choose from, and a difficult decision for the interview panel. Many of you will know John, who has worked as an Engineer in and around the Harbour for all his adult life, and who was previously part-owner of Feorlig Marine, providing small workboats to the Aquaculture Industry; and we are looking forward to him joining the team. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to apply, and to Lorna Spencer and Captain Ron Bailey who came and supported us with the interview process.

CMAL hosted a public engagement event in Mallaig and Morar Community Centre on 10^th December, to discuss the proposals for the new replacement vessel for the Lord of the Isles. The proposed new vessel will be a diesel-electric hybrid with a battery energy storage system so that it can be charged from the energy grid. It will have a single ended monohull, which will have an optimised design to reduce power demand. The vessel’s service speed will be 15.5knots, and the propulsion concept proposed will be designed to give improved manoeuvrability, station keeping and resilience. The vessel will be a similar size to the Lord of the Isles, and is designed to carry 300 passengers, 52 cars and 7 HGVs. It will have improved accessibility including two passenger lifts, increased walkway space, an accessible toilet and wheelchair spaces with adjustable height tables. At the moment, although the Scottish Government is supportive of the project, no funding has been allocated, so the timescale for the project has yet to be confirmed. An image of what the vessel will look like is included below.

Just prior to Christmas, the Loch Nevis had an issue with one of her engines, requiring her to leave for dry dock. Thankfully the Loch Bhrusda was in Mallaig and was able to pick up the Mallaig/Armadale route, before being awarded a dispensation from the MCA to operate (a mainly freight service) on the Small Isles routes, supported by the MV Larven, MV Orca III and MV Julie Ann. However, since New Year, the Loch Bhrusda has now left for her annual overhaul, and the Loch Nevis has yet to return – the result of this is that there is no vehicle service between Mallaig and Armadale until at least Friday 10^th January, and freight services to the Small Isles are also disrupted, with the Spanish John being called into service when available.

We have now had an asbestos survey undertaken on the old (Denholms) Ice Plant, which is the next stage in our project to demolish it. The report showed no asbestos present, which should make the demolition process more straightforward. Although we have had to pause the overnight ferry berth works, we do hope to get some of these ‘smaller’ projects undertaken before the end of the financial year, so that we can concentrate on the overnight berth next Autumn.

We had a formal consultation meeting with Harbour Users on 5^th December. These meetings are required to keep us compliant with the Port Marine Safety Code. While we would always encourage Harbour Users to raise any safety concerns with us as soon as possible, we do intend to meet more formally twice a  year. We hope that we invited a good representation of Harbour Users along, but if anyone would like to be invited to future meetings, and wasn’t invited to this one, then please get in touch and we can add you to the list. 

Finally, as I mentioned last month, we have decided to formalise the process for allocating funds to community groups and projects. We have set aside a budget of £5,000 to be allocated to community projects in the coming financial year, and local community groups will be asked to complete a simple application form, to be submitted to the Harbour Authority four weeks before the meeting at which the request will be considered.

Deadline:                                                                     Meeting Date:

14^th March 2025                                                        11^th April 2025

16^th May 2025                                                            13^th June 2025

15^th August 2025                                                       12^th September 2025

7^th November 2025                                                  5^th December 2025

Funds will be available to groups based in the Mallaig Area, who operate on a not for profit basis, and are either constituted or incorporated, and who have a dedicated bank account for the organisation. The project being supported should have demonstrable community benefit for the Mallaig area. We can consider support to organisations who are open to a wider community area than purely Mallaig, as long as these organisations can demonstrate benefit to the community in Mallaig. All the information needed will be uploaded to our website shortly, or you can email me at jacqueline@mallaigharbourauthority.com for more details.

Jacqueline McDonell

The Sprat pump arrived on Monday 4^th November, which always feels like it marks the change from the Summer season to Winter. There has been a fairly steady fishing, although around the time of the full moon on 15^th November, it was too bright, and there have been other nights when the weather hasn’t been in favour of the boat. The Sprats this year seem to be small, which is positive for future years, but frustrating for this year!   

After my mention of Modern Slavery and People Trafficking last month, we had a significant police presence on the Harbour on 5^th November, searching one of our regular visiting vessels in conjunction with Modern Slavery allegations, and this did result in a member of the crew being charged with various offences.   

We have hit a snag with the funding application to Transport Scotland for the overnight ferry berth and so have reached the stage where we had to take a decision to postpone the project until next Autumn, as the works would not start now in time to be complete before the summer season is in full swing. It has been a frustrating couple of weeks, but we think we have a way forward now, and it will allow us to start in the Autumn and not be rushing things at the end to make way for summer ferry traffic. We’re hoping to proceed with some of the other smaller works over the next few months so that these are complete before any major works start.

CMAL are hosting a drop-in session on the new ferry for Mallaig-Lochboisdale in Mallaig and Morar Community Centre on Wednesday 11^th December between 3.30 and 6pm. Everyone is welcome along and we have shared more information on our Facebook page. The slides for the event include a first look at the proposed new vessel, and will be available on CMAL’s website after the event https://www.cmassets.co.uk/projects/mallaig-lochboisdale-new-vessel/.   

I was off on my travels again this month, firstly to Glasgow to the Scottish Ports Group Meeting, and then a trip though to Edinburgh that evening to celebrate 25 years of Seafood Scotland at their Parliamentary Reception. It was great to be part of the celebrations, and to hear some of the positive stories. It was especially good to hear about the work being done to encourage the next generation into the industry through working with schools and other training partners.

We are in the process of interviewing for the Deputy Harbour Master as I am writing this, so will hopefully have news on this in the New Year. We are also hosting a Consultation meeting for Harbour Users this week, on Thursday 5^th December. This is part of our statutory responsibility under the Port Marine Safety Code, and we have emailed many of the stakeholders who use the Harbour to come along. We hope that this will evolve into a Harbour User’s Group, which will meet twice yearly, so if anyone is reading this who uses the Harbour and has an interest in being part of this group, then please let me know.

You may have seen the Harbour Staff in the forklift this month, as they helped the Community Council and others (special mention to William Simpson and Nick Murray) with the Christmas Tree and Lights, which were all in place for the switch on event on Friday 29^th November. After a few days of lovely weather, it typically broke that afternoon to wind and rain, but it didn’t dampen spirits.

As a Trust Port, we are able to support the community both with resources like the forklift and the use of our staff time, but also with small amounts of funding. We receive various requests over the year, and the Board have taken the decision to formalise the process for funding requests. We’re ironing out the fine details of how this will work, with the aim to have guidance and an application procedure in place early in the New Year. It will not be a complicated process, but it will be a bit more structured than it has been in the past. More details to follow.

Finally, we’d like to wish all Harbour users, and the wider community, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year when it comes.

Jacqueline McDonell

October seems to have passed by very quickly, possibly because I had ten days off work, and a week in the sun! The flip side is that I have returned to winter, and the first named storm of the season, Storm Ashley on Sunday 20^th October. This coincided with 5.1m tides which resulted in the pontoons being horizontal to the pier and the water washing over the pier. Thankfully the only damage in the Harbour was to some fendering at the entrance to the Outer Harbour, although West Bay car park took a bit of a pounding, and the road around the back of the Community Centre was blocked for a short while.

We are now on the Winter timetable for CalMac, so we are down to just the Loch Nevis operating from Mallaig at the moment. The Lord of the Isles was due to be operating from Mallaig between 21^st October and 5^th November, but due to ongoing challenges with other vessels, this has not been possible. The next period that the Lord of the Isles is due to operate from Mallaig is from 1^st December until 4^th January. CalMac are currently consulting on the timetable for Summer 2025, with forms to be submitted online by 8^th November. The guidance attached to this consultation indicates that timetables are to be maintained at their current level, and that changes will be by exception only. The process has again flagged up the need for a local Ferry Users Group. This will be especially important as Rob Ware, who has for many years collated responses on behalf of the Sleat and Mallaig communities, is leaving the area, and will no longer be able to do so. We’ll be working with Rob to put something together, and looking for local representation, so watch out for this over the coming months.

Although I had some annual leave in October, I also had a day and a half in Kilkeel at the British Ports Association Fishing Ports Group meeting. Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie Harbours are all operated by the Northern Irish Fishery Harbour Authority, which is effectively owned by DEARA, the Northern Irish equivalent of DEFRA, and operated as an independent, arms-length organisation. This is quite different from the way we operate as a Trust Port, although still with an emphasis on supporting the wider community. We had presentations from the RNMDSF in Kilkeel, and the Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation (NIFPO). There has been quite a bit of work being done in Kilkeel around foreign crew and their rights, and this has resulted in a Modern Slavery statement being published on the 18th October. This coincided with the British Ports Association launching a guide for Ports and Harbours on Modern Slavery, People Trafficking and People Smuggling in the Westminster Parliament. The recent media coverage of the treatment of some foreign crews has brought this issue to the forefront, so it’s good to see efforts to ensure that crews are treated fairly and with respect.

While in Kilkeel, it was interesting to see that their vessels still have a Herring quota – the fishmarket was full of insulated bins awaiting Herring landings. While there are no Herring Landings in Mallaig now, Herring and the Herring Girls are very much part of our history. 35,000 people were employed in the industry in the 1900s with around 14,000 of them being women. They would travel from port to port from June to September following fleets of boats to gut and pack fish into barrels for export. Highlife Highland’s Archive Service, in partnership with Suffolk Archives, the Norfolk Record Office, and Tasglann nan Eilean (the Hebridean Archives) have been awarded funding to capture the stories of the Herring Girls, and are looking for anyone who has stories of the Herring Girls to get in touch. You can email archives@highlifehighland.com or call: 01349 781130 to share your stories.  

While we may have lost the larger ferries for the winter, we seem to have made up for it with larger Aquaculture vessels this week. The Ronja Commander has been berthed in the Outer Harbour for most of the week, and the Isaac McKinnon has been in and out each day discharging. We also have the Ocean Aquila in for a few days, and the Eloise Eslea, which is a new vessel for us in Mallaig. She is owned by Inverlussa Marine and on contract to Scottish Seafarms to provide thermo de-lousing treatment to their farms. The vessel is fitted with diesel electric propulsion and a battery hybrid system to lower fuel consumption and emissions during standby or overnight. Although she is only 27m long, her height means that she’s quite an imposing vessel coming out of Loch Nevis and into the Harbour each day!

We’re still awaiting a decision from Transport Scotland on the overnight ferry berth so no news on that this month, and also no news (despite lots of people asking us!) on what might happen to the boatyard site.

Finally this month, it would be remiss of me not to mention the deaths of three people who each had a long connection with the Harbour; John Henderson, Toby Robinson and ‘Sparky’ Longmuir. Our condolences to each of their families.  

Jacqueline McDonell