The Ileach, Islay’s cracking newspaper whose jourmalism is after our own heart, broke a major story in its last issue. (The latest is due out at the end of this week.)

The paper has been systematically pursuing a serious omission in strategic forethought in CMAL’s commissioning of its new, larger, £21 million Islay ferry – like whether it can actually dock at and use existing facilities at the ports for the route.

The Ileach was well informed that there was a problem and raised the issue with CMAL, The company’s first response was to say that it, at Port Ellen and Kennacraig, it proposed ‘to instigate a modernisation programme to precede the delivery of the new ferry in 2011′ -  with the comforting qualification: ‘Whilst the existing infrastructure on Islay and the mainland will accommodate the new ferry’.

The Ileach then enquired whether the developments at the mainland port of Kenacraig and the Islay port of Port Ellen would be simultaneous or consecutive. A good question – there would be little value in having port facilities enabling, say, a ferry to depart from the mainland but unable to get into Port Ellen.

CMAL’s reply was that: ‘the new vessel will be able to use the existing ports as they are at present, however this is not ideal and some minor modifications are being developed’.

The Ileach’s research continued and on 23rd February they told CMAL: ‘We are being told that significant work will have to take place to modify the new linkspan at Port Askaig (Editor’s Note: this linkspan has been installed quite recently as  part of a major re-engineering of the harbour facilities at Port Askaig, a contract which has been attended by long term and serious difficulties for the operation of the small car ferry over to Jura) and that this work has been costed at approx £500,000′.

The newspaper said that it understood that: ‘works costing a similar amount will need to be carried out at Kennacraig … and that (the ferry) will not be able to operate from the present Port Ellen infrastructure at all – and that serious redevelopment costing at least £10 million will be required’.

The profound concern for Islay is that, as The Ileach went on to stress to CMAL, if its information is correct: ‘this would mean the de facto closure of  of Port Ellen as a ferry port when the new Islay ferry commences operations?  Certainly for years, if not for good?’

The company’s reply, following a long paragraph of the sort of self-justifying ‘corporate speak’ that degrades language, was: ‘With the design of the new Islay vessel now finalised and construction underway, detailed design work is currently ongoing in respect of the associated pier and harbour infrastructure.  The new vessel will be able to be berthed safely and securely at the recently completed Port Askaig facility.  The new vessel can also be accommodated at the existing Kennacraig facility.  At Port Ellen, detailed examination has revealed that passengers and vehicles could not be accommodated in its current form.

‘CMAL will continue to work very hard to consider how best to develop improvement works at Port Ellen and Kennacraig.’

CMAL say it is holding public meetings at Port Ellen and at Tarbert on the mainland on 10th and 11th March: ‘where we hope to feedback from the public consultation and detail our preferred construction timetable subject to funding’. Whatever that means.

The Ileach’s persistent enquiries have clearly forced into the open a serious problem for the development of ferry transort to and from Islay. This is local journalism at its very best. You can subscribe to The Ileach online and, wherever you are in the world, you will be emailed a link to download a pdf file of the latest issue.