For a Gaelic version of this e-newsletter please click HERE
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Welcome to the second CMAL e-newsletter of 2009, keeping you up to date with the latest news on the harbours, ports and ferries vital for Scotland's lifeline ferry services.
In uncertain economic times with a scarcity of resources, the importance of planning becomes ever more important. At CMAL we remain focused on ensuring robust investment plans are developed and that the necessary fleet replacement and long term redevelopment of our ports and harbours continues. We need to ensure that any investment is justified and provides value for money, while never losing sight of the need to guarantee the vital infrastructure we have charge over, continues to be fit for purpose. We are undertaking detailed design work for potential redevelopments at Port Ellen and Kennacraig, working on designs and specification for the next generation of vessels, and ensuring necessary long term maintenance of the assets is completed.
Work on the ground continues with the new pier at Largs and construction of the new ferry destined for the Islay route and you can read more about these key projects later on.
Conference season continues and it was good to catch up with industry colleagues recently at the Scottish Transport Applications and Research (STAR) Conference in Glasgow. Next stop was the Rural Transport Conference – Making The Connection in Inverness where I joined Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson as a speaker at the event which examined the unique transport challenges which affect the daily lives of those living and working in rural communities across Scotland.
Much work has been done but there is still much to do and we look forward to meeting the challenges of the future.
Here’s to a sunny and successful summer,
Guy Platten, Managing Director, CMAL
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SMALL FERRIES PROJECT
The Small Ferries Project was launched in March thanks to CMAL’s pioneering partnership with the Department for Regional Development in the north of Ireland and the Department of Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs in the south, to examine a common design and procurement strategy for small ferries which could be used by each of the partners. With £230,000 of funding from the EU’s INTERREG IVA programme, we are working together to establish how best to design and build a fleet of small ferries to serve remote and island communities off the Scottish and Irish coastlines. At least eight routes will be examined throughout the West Coast of Scotland and Ireland, including the Ballycastle to Rathlin route in Northern Ireland. Log onto the Small Ferries Project website www.smallferriesproject.com for more information.
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GREEN PASSPORT
The Vessels Department has secured a first for Scotland and the UK with the introduction of Green Passports to our fleet. The MV Canna has become the first existing ferry in the UK to be awarded its own Green Passport with two more sister ships due to receive their green passports by July. A Green Passport is a certificate that is awarded to a vessel by a Classification Society and will soon become mandatory. For this certificate to be issued, a database of all the materials the vessel is constructed from has to be submitted to the Society then a surveyor will inspect the ferry. The passport allows any hazardous materials to be identified to enable recycling when the vessel is scrapped. The scheme will be rolled out across all our ferries as part of a five year programme.
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LARGS PIER LATEST
Work on the reconstruction of Largs Pier is progressing well and is on schedule for completion this July. Piling and demolition works to the final sections of the old pier are underway, and current activities include dredging the harbour area; and installing cope, fenders and deck furniture on the new pier. Meanwhile our Largs Pier Forum meetings are continuing alongside the regular Meet the Engineer session at Largs Library, see the project notice board at the terminal building for upcoming dates.
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NEW ISLAY FERRY
Chairman Grenville Johnston and Managing Director Guy Platten have recently returned from the Remontowa shipyard in Poland to see for themselves the progress of the new ferry for Islay which is continuing to take shape. As work progresses we will be attending equipment factory acceptance tests, dock trials and finally sea trials with the ferry scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2011.
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PORT ELLEN & KENNACRAIG
Following the completion of the Business Cases into the need for improvements and redevelopment at Port Ellen and Kennacraig terminals, we have now moved into the detailed design phase of the project, which will include extensive marine site investigation at both locations.The findings of the business cases and phasing study were presented to local communities at public meetings in both Islay and Tarbert in March, highlighting the priorities for infrastructure improvements.
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This e-newsletter is also available to view in Gaelic, please click HERE
For the very latest news from CMAL please visit our website www.cmassets.co.uk