A group of Hebridean islands have come together to demand two dedicated ferries over each of two routes which would help replace the "elderly" 32-year-old MV Lord of the Isles - the most-travelled vessel in the CalMac fleet.
Seven Uist community councils have hit out at having "front row seats for a national scandal" over Scotland's failing lifeline ferry services.
They have demanded action having just seen services disrupted after CalMac's largest ferry MV Loch Seaforth was taken off the Ullapool-Stornoway route to be taken into dry dock for "major" engine repairs.
It comes as a new row broke out after it emerged the Loch Seaforth is not expected to be back in service for another month.
It has emerged that the timescales for getting Loch Seaforth back on track have been put back to the May 17 at the earliest. At one point CalMac thought it might be back in service at the end of this month.
READ MORE: New row as broken down lifeline CalMac ferry is not expected to be fixed for a month
It is one of four vessels in the CalMac fleet that have broken down in the space of three weeks.
Campaigners have described the situation as a "national scandal" and that those responsible should already have lost their jobs for the state of Scotland's ferries.
Some hauliers have contacted Pentland Ferries to find out if the MV Pentalina ferry could be chartered to provide freight services - as the current replacement can only take four lorries.
But CalMac, the publicly funded ferry operator, said that while the Pentalina may be an option for a longer-term hire, she is not immediately available while the Loch Seaforth is being repaired.
Now the Uist Association of Community Councils have registered their concerns saying the "rusting hulk" of a potential ferry replacement known as Hull 802 which would serve them remains under construction at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow three years after it was due to enter service on the Uig-Lochmaddy-Tarbert triangle. It may not be in service until February, 2023.
"Uist is feeling the pain more than most islands from the decades of underinvestment by Scottish Government in the fleet of ferries that serve us," said the group of community councils from Eriskay, Lochboisdale, Bornish, Iochdar, Benbecula, North Uist and Berneray.
"As a community Uist is clear in what we want from our ferries. We want vessels that operate reliably. We want a dedicated ferry on each route Lochmaddy to Uig and Lochboisdale to Mallaig.
"In short, we expect to be treated the same as other islands who have the ability to travel on any given day and can enjoy such basic things as the ability to do a day trip to the mainland or welcome day trip visitors to our special islands."
It says they are the first community to lose serviced when a vessel breaks down across the network as the elderly MV Lord of the Isles is removed from her normal beat covering Lochboisdale to Mallaig.
"We are relieved that the excellent MV Hebrides continues to prove reliable and less susceptible to the rigours of age and engine problem that we see elsewhere," the councils said.
"However, where other islands of similar population are served by two major ferries operating four or more crossings in each direction each day to the mainland, we are the community without a single dedicated ferry. Instead, we share Hebrides with Harris and share LOTI with Skye.
"In this respect our wishes appear to matter least to those in charge of our ferry services from Cabinet Secretaries and Islands Ministers to the central belt-based management of Calmac, CMAL and Transport Scotland."
Stornoway haulier, D R MacLeod said the islands are "being held hostage by an unreliable ferry service specified in Edinburgh and delivered from Inverclyde".
"We do not expect that ferries can operate without technical issues but the frequency of breakdowns in the Calmac fleet should have demanded urgent action to reduce the fleet age and increase the fleet to provide better resilience," the hauliers said.
“Instead we are promised much and given little. Ministers claim they have given CMAL the green light to charter in vessels which has not yet happened, yet it has been confirmed that the Pentalina is available and could be chartered with no crewing impact on Calmac."
A CalMac team is currently carrying out repairs to the "engines on Loch Seaforth at the James Watt dock in Greenock.
CalMac said: "Staff are working extremely hard to ensure all customer demands are being accommodated across the network. However, passenger bookings will have to be carefully managed until the MV Loch Seaforth is back in service and the summer timetable resumes.
"While Ardrossan-Brodick will remain as a one-vessel route for the time being, sailings on the Lochranza-Claonaig route have increased, doubling in capacity, offering an alternative to accessing Arran or the mainland."
The two lifeline ferries being build at Ferguson Marine which were due to be in service in early 2018 are now up to nearly five years behind schedule and their cost is now over double the original £97m contract.
The first of the ferries the MV Glen Sannox is now destined for the Arran to Ardrossan route - Scotland's busiest ferry crossing - between April 2022 and June, 2022.
Ferguson Marine, led by tycoon Jim McColl went into administration in August, 2019 following a dispute with Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) - the taxpayer-funded company which buys and leases CalMac's ships on behalf of the Scottish government - over the construction of the ferries under the fixed price contract.
The Scottish Government then pushed ahead to take full control of of the shipyard company as it went under with blame attached to soaring costs of the ferry contract.
CMAL said it is "actively searching the global market for second-hand vessels that would be suitable to operate on the CHFS network".
It added: "There are a number of constraints that mean that this search remains a challenge, but we remain fully committed and will leave no stone unturned."
An SNP spokesman said: “Since 2016 we have invested over £1.1 billion in supporting our lifeline ferry services. This year’s budget for 2021/22 has increased by £32.5 million since last year, meaning that there has been an overall increase in budget of £89 million since 2016-17.
“Over the next parliamentary term, the Capital Spending Review has indicated that we will spend £580 million, as part of the Infrastructure and Investment Plan, investing in new vessels and improving port infrastructure over the next 5 years.
“We are undertaking a review of the legal structures and governance arrangements which exist between the 'tripartite group' of Transport Scotland, CMAL and Calmac remain fit for purpose to deliver an effective, efficient and economic ferry services has just started and will deliver a final report later in the year.
“The Islands Connectivity Plan will consider island connectivity more broadly, having regard to aviation, ferries and fixed links, and to connecting and onward travel.
"We know ferries provide a lifeline service for the islands they serve, and we are committed to funding these services and maintaining Road Equivalent Tariff on all current island ferry routes."
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