Outgoing transport minister Kevin Stewart has ordered a CalMac rethink into how it organises the nation's ageing ferries in the wake of a major demonstration by islanders over drastic cuts.

Islanders have been calling for the First Minister to intervene quickly on the nation's ferry crisis - Mr Stewart quit as transport minister after less than ten weeks in the post.

Mr Stewart has told business leaders on South Uist that sorting out the ferry fiasco did not have a direct bearing on his decision to resign on Tuesday.

But he has told the Scottish Government-owned ferry operator that it should review the way its Route Prioritisation Matrix operates following concerns that South Uist was regularly hit with cuts when ferries are out of action.

The Scottish Government said Mr Stewart tendered his resignation to the First Minister and stepped down from his ministerial post for health-related reasons.

He said that since October, last year he had bouts of poor mental health, with a low ebb in early December of last year and that over the last week he had once again been feeling unwell.

One of his last tasks of his tenure as transport minister was to have online meetings with business leaders on South Uist that has been hit hard by the latest wave of ferry chaos which led to a major demonstration. The last of them was on Thursday.

READ MORE: Ferry debacle has made Scots transport minister 'the job few want'

On Sunday an estimated 500 residents, 200 cars, 40 vans and 20 lorries converged on Lochboisdale - the port which links South Uist to the mainland - in a protest over CalMac's decision to cancel almost every ferry service in June to the island due to continuing problems with breakdowns with the ageing fleet.

The Lochboisdale protest.   Credit: Carla Regler

The issues were further exacerbated over the weekend when Scottish Government-owned CalMac blocked motorhomes from going to and from North Uist from Saturday morning and into Sunday because of a problem with MV Hebrides' mezzanine deck.

Now it has emerged that before he left his post, Mr Stewart ordered the Scottish Government-owned ferry operator to review a controversial 'matrix' which led to the axing of the services.

Robbie Drummond, the chief executive of CalMac is to visit the South Uist community next week to discuss concerns about local ferry connections.

Mr Stewart told the South Uist Business Impact Group in a letter dated on Saturday, the day of his 55th birthday that he had discussed with CalMac "the need for them to review the current matrix to ensure this is taking into account the actual economic impact to islands".

He told the group that had organised Sunday's demonstration: "I fully agree with the points raised by the group in terms of the economical impact and particularly that there needs to be more exploration on the impact to tourists, who are likely to be coming for a longer period of time than perhaps visitors to other islands.

"It appreciate that the South Uist community has lost confidence in the service and commitment in recent months from CalMac and I will be ensuring their communications and engagement is stepped up to recognise the need to re-establish this.

"You know that I recently visited South Uist and heard first hand of the impact service disruption is having, and I know the removal again is the last thing anyone needs. Following our meeting on Thursday I met again later that day with CalMac to hear directly what else could be done following the suggestions that were raised during the meeting by your group.

The Lochboisdale protest.   Credit: Carla Regler

"CalMac are contractually obliged to ensure lifeline connections are maintained across the network, and they advised me, with the current situation as it is, the above options are the best way to achieve this.

READ MORE: Motorhomes ban and call for sackings amidst islanders' ferry cuts demo

"I will continue to meet with them as required and I impressed upon them my frustration and the urgency needed to bring creative solutions to communities when these issues arise. I have been clear that everything must be done to ensure resilience measures are in place to bolster the contingency options on the other routes via the Sound of Barra linking to the Oban-Castlebay service and also via Lochmaddy-Uig."

The issues have been exacerbated by the sidelining of the 38-year-old MV Hebridean Isles, which has been hit with issues since Boxing Day.

After a number of false dawns, the vessel was forced back into dry dock a week ago as the vessel experienced what the Scottish Government-owned ferry operator CalMac described as "pitch control issues".

It Mr Stewart, meanwhile, has told Stòras Uibhist a community owned company that manages the 93,000 acre South Uist Estate comprising the Outer Hebridean islands of Eriskay, South Uist and parts of Benbecula that the ferry issues were not the main reason he stepped down.

He said: "Contrary to some of the myths that are being peddled it was not trying to fix the ferry situation that led to my resignation.

"I enjoyed my robust, but fair meetings with Uist folk and I do hope that you get [MV Lord of the Isles] back soon.

It means MV Lord of the Isles will be redeployed to operate alongside MV Isle of Arran on a two-vessel service on Islay, which will be a cut the number of passengers and cars that the service is usually able to carry.

The Herald:

Mr Drummond said in advance of his meeting with residents that the South Uist community was "understandably angry" that their ferry connections have been cancelled this year.

“This decision has clearly affected people living in the area, as shown by the holding of a public protest at Lochboisdale port. While we have increased sailings on alternative routes, we recognise that the cancellation is an inconvenience to local people, businesses, and visitors," he said.

“I will be in Lochboisdale to meet local representatives on Monday so that I can listen to the concerns of local residents and businesses, and I hope to be able to explain the alternative options we have considered, as well as how our route prioritisation matrix which helps us to arrive at these extremely tough decisions.”

CalMac cancelled the Lochboisdale service until June 30 as its regular vessel, MV Lord of the Isles, was moved to Islay while MV Finlaggan is off on annual maintenance. Islay’s other vessel, MV Hebridean Isles, is currently off service being repaired.

“I am confident that MV Finlaggan will complete annual maintenance as planned by June 26 so that MV Lord of the Isles can return to the Lochboisdale-Mallaig service at the latest from July 1," said Mr Drummond. In the meantime, there is capacity for passengers travelling to and from South Uist via the Sound of Barra and Lochmaddy, which have additional sailings. Displaced Lochboisdale traffic will be prioritised on those routes.”

Mr Drummond added: “Our team has employed independent experts and the original engine manufacturer to work with us to get MV Hebridean Isles back into service and we will recommence the Lochboisdale service before July 2 if the vessel is available before the return of the MV Finlaggan."

CalMac has also committed to work with the Ferries Community Board and local communities including South Uist to reassess the current measures to prioritise vessel deployments across the network during times of disruption.