The Army could be brought into provide a replacement for a key Highland ferry service.
There is currently only a foot passenger service from Corran to the Ardnamurchan peninsula after the relief vessel broke down.
A reduced service has been running on the five-minute crossing of Loch Linnhe since January as the main ferry on the Highland Council service, the MV Corran, was taken off for repairs.
READ MORE: Council calls for investigation into Corran ferry fiasco 'scandal'
The MV Maid of Glencoul had been covering the route until it broke down last Friday, leaving locals and tourists facing a diversion of around 42 miles.
Highland Council organised a foot passenger route from Wednesday on a catamaran which can take up to 65 passengers, which runs two return trips daily.
But there is no currently car service on what the ferry is the busiest single-vessel route in Scotland, carrying more than 270,000 cars a year.
Now, Scotland’s Transport Minister has confirmed the local authority has been in contact regarding military assistance.
Transport Minister Kevin Stewart said: “The Highland Council has made contact with the Scottish Government regarding military support.
READ MORE: CalMac uses user priority list as MV Loch Seaforth is sidelined
“The Scottish Government will liaise with The Highland Council to consider how this is taken forward.
“There is a structured process to follow for military assistance and any final decision will be for MoD.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel