Most of you will have seen the announcement from Transport Scotland that we have been awarded the funding for the overnight ferry berth. The contract has been awarded to RJ MacLeod through the SCAPE framework, who would like to be on-site as soon as possible, so that the works can be completed while the ferries are on their winter timetable, minimising disruption. At the moment, we are hoping to start the works on 22nd September. Inevitably, there will be some upheaval, and the works and the compound required for the contractors will mean that we are even more tight for space around the Harbour than normal for a few months. It will be great to see the works finally done, and will certainly make life a lot simpler in the Outer Harbour going forward, so hopefully Harbour users can put up with the disruption for a few months. The announcement was made by Fiona Hyslop when she visited the Harbour on Wednesday 13th August. This coincided with me being on annual leave, so the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I am not in the photos!
I have included a diagram showing where the works will take place.
The works will require a bit of juggling of berths in the Outer Harbour, especially while the summer timetable is still in place (until mid-October) and the Loch Fyne and the Loch Bhrusda are still on service. It felt like we just got back on track with the ferries that should have been running on each of the routes, and then the Lochnevis went out of service due to mechanical issues. While this will give us an extra berth to play with if she is not back on service when the works start, it does mean a lot of disruption for the Small Isles. The Lochnevis was due to go for planned maintenance in September but the enforced early start to this left the islands with a much reduced service for a few days.
Other big news last month was the arrival of ‘Miss Marley’ for Milligan Transport Limited on the 15th August. Built by Ardmaleish Boatyard on Bute, and named after Jamie Milligan’s daughter, ‘Miss Marley’ joins the ‘Spanish John’ and ‘Lyrawa Bay’ to provide freight services from Mallaig.
August 4th saw the worst summer storm for many years. We were fortunate in the Harbour that the only ‘casualty’ was a French yacht, ‘Aquarius’, which had been moored at Isleornsay but which had broken its mooring and dragged its anchor, and which had to be rescued by the RNLI Lifeboat. Some of you may have seen the videos of the Lifeboat leaving the Harbour, which were shared on Facebook locally, or the video of the rescue taken from on board the Lifeboat itself. We could hear the distress calls on the VHF in the office, and were watching the yachts on moorings in our own marina rolling so we could understand the panic of the French crew. However, I did have my own moment of panic watching the boat leaving the Harbour after I had gone home to collect my son so he could go and crew the Lifeboat with his father!
The busy season at the Marina has continued, with 496 overnight stays in July, up around 30 on last year. Summer has passed quickly, and Provident has already left for the season, while Eda Frandsen sailed off on 6th September, heading south to Oban initially, before the onward journey to Falmouth. This coincided with our Marina Fun Day, which had been postponed from earlier in the season.
We are also hosting the naming ceremony for the FSV Scotia, on the 10th September, so again, you will have to wait for next month for a full report from this. The introduction of the FSV Scotia has allowed the Harvest Station to have a period of shut-down this month, allowing for deep cleaning and maintenance to be undertaken. The volume of fish being harvested through Mallaig has remained high, it has just been done in a different way. We have also had a busy period in terms of fish feed, with over 4,700 tonnes of feed being shipped through the Feed Shed in July. This is the largest monthly volume shipped since 2019, when the Aqua Senior did most of the deliveries, supplemented by various Ferguson Shipping vessels.
We are glad to report this month that the scaffolding is finally down and the solar panels on the feed shed are operational. We have to thank Ian Bolas of Hebnet, who has stepped in and provided internet connectivity at both the feed shed and power house, so that we are able to monitor electricity production and usage.
Jacqueline McDonell
