IT is fair to assume that it must be a frustrating time living on Scotland’s islands at the moment.

The well-documented ferry problems have ruined many plans and businesses must be tearing their hair out at the unreliability that will affect their livelihoods on a daily basis.

CalMac’s fleet at times resembles a schoolboy’s home-made vessel for sailing in the park pond, held together by string and sticky tape before it finally succumbs to the dark depths.

It is hard not to imagine folk standing at island piers in trepidation at the arrival of the ferry in case half it had fallen off half way across the Minch or Clyde.

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Even the great naval commander Admiral Lord Nelson himself would struggle to do anything worthwhile with the current CalMac fleet, given their age and repeated mechanical problems.

Come to think of it, some of the ferries in the current fleet may actually have been at Nelson’s greatest victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 given their great age.

But while there is great and justified anger at the current situation, it is important to point out that it is not CalMac’s fault, they can only operate what’s available to them.

And to be frank at the current time this is not really an awful lot.

Skippers must feel like they are in charge of rowing boats with their hands tied their back sometimes.

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The real villains of the piece here are Transport Scotland and Scottish government ministers for a chronic lack of foresight and under-investment that has left CalMac with a fleet of paper yachts to provide lifeline services.

Island business leaders have recently told the transport secretary to sack the entire CalMac management team before the new contract for services is awarded later this year.

The South Uist Business Impact Group told Fiona Hyslop that it supports the direct award of the lifeline Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service to CalMac, but only if there are major changes at the top of the Scottish Government-owned firm.

CalMac’s current £975million, eight-year Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract expires in September 2024 and ministers are minded to make it a permanent one in future.

But the South Uist group of businesses said that they want a service that is “more fit for purpose” and that a “complete root and branch revamp is required”.

CalMac should be given the contract unopposed and their recent woes will be greatly helped by six new ferries being added to the network by 2026.

It is time to for everyone to look forward from the current farce, created solely in Edinburgh but suffered by people living hundreds of miles away.

Islanders should also be careful what they wish for.

CalMac has the experience and ability to run an excellent service and have even done so despite the lack of reliable vessels in their ageing fleet.

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All the staff have done a remarkable job given what they have to work with and the daily reliability stats are regularly above 95 per cent. Imagine what the stats might be once the fleet is modernised and fit for purpose.

CalMac is far from perfect of course, and the new contract should be a time for changes in the way it operates.

But the CalMac board actually deserve a lot of credit and sacking them will achieve nothing.