Enforcement of Gigha ferry weight restrictions having ‘massive repercussions’ on island

Speaking about the impact of the restrictions on Tarbert Farm, Mr Dennis said: “The bulk milk tanker now must arrive nearly empty, since, if it is even half full, it will be over the 22 ton gross vehicle weight.

“Tarbert Farm and another farm on the island get ‘cake’ – supplemental feed in the form of pellets – that are a part of the cows’ diet. This used to come in with 20 tons of cake loaded on the lorry, but now we have to get just four tons each at a time.

“Instead of getting a larger delivery once every two months or so, we now have to get these smaller deliveries every fortnight. In effect, because the ferry crossing is a bigger chunk of the invoice now, it means close to a trebling of the feed costs.”

He added: “We are one of any number of businesses on the island that need cementing done from time to time. It used to be that you could bring a ready mix cement lorry across, with six cubic metres of cement on board. No longer: now the most they can bring is three cubic metres, making cement work far more expensive.

“For the cement work to be done by ourselves, we need a sand and gravel mix, known to the trade as ‘ballast’, which we could get a local contractor to deliver, 20 tons at a time. Instead, we have had to buy a 12-ton flatbed tipping trailer, so that we can bring such material across to Gigha. 

“It is the same with type one stone, commonly used for dressing tracks; we currently have a project on the farm with a 280-metre long track, which needs about 200 tons of type one in the coming months.”

But CalMac’s spokesperson said the strict verification of vehicle weights comes after the ramp of the MV Loch Shira was damaged, which kept the vessel out of service for four months for repairs.

Speaking specifically about the MV Lochranza, the spokesperson said: “The ramp length is nine metres. If a vehicle weighs more than 22 tons but is longer than nine metres, it can be loaded on the vessel, provided no more than 22 tons of weight is on the ramp at any given time. 

“The maximum given weight we can take is 44 tons – which is effectively a heavily loaded articulated lorry.”

He added: “The restrictions on all our vessels are defined by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) when the ramps are designed and constructed.

“Enforcing weight limits is important, as any significant damage to the vessel’s ramp could lead to weeks or months off-service for repairs, which could have far-reaching consequences for a service and the communities it supports.”

The MV Lochranza, which was built in 1987, is one of seven CalMac ferries that will be replaced by a new vessel as part of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited’s small vessel replacement programme.

Procurement for the contract to build the vessels is currently underway.