Irish Ferry

[John S]

Thanks for that Glen man. Had the pleasure of meeting a Limavady MLA a few weeks ago who said that the ferry to Donegal was only 3 years old and had carried 500,000 fares. That just goes to show what can be achieved. The tender for the Campbeltown - Ballycastle service should go into the EU Journal hopefully before the end of April, operators prospecting for a UK presence will certainly be welcome but we did trawl interest last year on the continent without a great deal of interest.

[Les]

Good to hear from the Glen Man - more contributions wanted from over the water!

Couple of points:

In an ideal world the past would be the past. However we have frequently had to confront the ghost of the past service in many shapes and forms over the past two years. It blighted the previous tendering exercise having been used as the basis of a now discredited "consultation" which ended up in the public domain and on the desks of potential ferry operators. Thus the perception of the route for many is negative. We spent two years debating this with a number of ferry operators and the Scottish Exec and we felt that we had won the debate. However, in the past month we have discovered that the same old cliches still have currency in Northern Ireland. The issue is not whether or not the route will work, but whether or not old prejudices can be overcome amongst the traditional ferry operators or even better if a new breed of ferry operator without these attitudes can be found.

In terms of numbers, it is a different ball game from last time, and the key is strong and robust marketing which was completely missing the last time round. We know that the Foyle ferry has handled upwards of 500,000 passenegers in the last three years. A figure of 1 million has actually been reported - whatever the truth, both figures are extraordinary given its perceived remote location.

With over 400,000 visitors to the North Coast each year, and Kintyre already linked by ferries on the West to Islay (500,000 + visitors per year) and on the East to Arran (700,000 per year) allied to the visitor activities and attractions available here in Kintyre, and the wider West Highland market to the North, there is no question that there is a ready througput of people who can be enticed to use the service. It really is a no-brainer.

Les

[Fergal]

Looking forward to the new ferry coming into operation. I have been a frequent traveller to Campbeltown over this past five years by yacht and rib, but allways fancied being able to bring a car and see the rest of the kintyre area......... so far ive struggled to make it past certain pubs!!
As for the irish side of the sea, the north coast is renowned for its beauty so im sure the service wouldn't struggle to find any borders from your side. Currently the closest ferry linking Scotland to the north coast is into larne, (am i right?) which would leave a long drive for day passengers.

All this said, i find it hard to think why the first service failed so badly...........

[Les]

Just a quick note to clarify what happens next re: the ferry so as people can understand the process.

1. An advert is placed in the European Journal inviting interested parties to make themselves known to the Scottish Executive. This is a legal requirement under EU rules.

2. Interested parties then have 37 days to contact the Executive and submit to what is called a Pre-Qualifying Round. As part of this exercise they complete a questionnaire and the idea is that at the end of this exercise, the Executive will decide from the evidence put forward whether or not the candidates are serious contenders and should be allowed to submit a tender.

3. Those companies who get over the pre-qualification hurdle are then invited to submit a formal tender for the route.

4. The winning tenderer will then be awarded the route.

Please note that a number of people have said to us that Cal Mac should be made to submit a bid. Unfortunately, the system does not work that way. You can't make a company bid for something that they don't want. Although Cal Mac is indirectly owned by the Scottish Executive, there is legally nothing they can do to force Cal Mac to put in a tender. Perhaps the only time the Executive could force Cal Mac's hand would be if no other operator came forward. At that point, subject to European competition rules, the Executive could maybe seek to persuade Cal Mac in a fairly robust manner that they should take on the route. However this is a bit of a grey area as we understand it. Also, we should be extremely wary of a situation where an operator was coerced into operating the service as they would not necessarily have the best interests of the route at heart if they were running it against their own wishes.

Anyway, the first stage is the European Journal, and we would hope to see the announcement in there by Mid-May at the latest (provided there is no snarl-up with the general election.)

Les

[Kintyre Lad]

Les,

What are the proposals for the service or is that up to whoever runs it?

Was discussing this at the weekend and is great to see people excited about the prospect of this running again. I think everyone believes it cetainly can be promoted better.

So would the service be the same as last year or is there merit in the service say being based in Ballycastle visiting elsewhere on the north coast of Ireland back to Ballycastle, then to Campbeltown and back.

So only visiting here once? Which means they have to stay and enjoy Kintyre!

KL

[Les]

K.L.

In many ways it will be up to the operator how they operate the service provided they comply with the minimum service specification per the tender document. As you probably know, the route has PSO status which menas that in return for the subsidy the operator will have to guarantee a certain minimum service. The PSO is linked specifically to the ports of Campbeltown and Ballycastle. However, provided the PSO requirements are met, and that it can be shown that the subsidy is ring-fenced for this particular operation, there is scope for a forward thinking operator to run additional services. This would obviously be a commercial decision, but it should make sense to them to keep the boat working rather than running a minimum service and having her tied up for the rest of the day.

A link to Ayrshire would be on obvious enhancement to the service and there are also opportunities with regard to running freight in and out of Larne subject to P&O allowing the use of the docks.

In addition to benefiting Vestas this route would also be useful for taking building materials into Argyll (approximately 20-30% cheaper in NI - and M & K now purchase a lot of their raw materials over there - windows, blocks, cement etc. If as is predicted, Campbeltown is about to have a building boom, this would come into its own.

However, at the end of the day it is up to the operator how they wish to run their business. If they do their homework properly the ferry will realise it's potential. If we can bite their ears then they will be in no doubt as to what the opportunities will be!

With regard to where the ferry will be berthed, again this should be up to the operator, althoug there were some whispers just before the announcement was made that the Civil Servants in NI had driven a hard bargain with the Executive in return for their support. We have no idea what this really means but we do know that the guys over there were less keen than those in Edinburgh. Thus I wouldn't be surprised if there is some attempt to influence where the ferry is berthed but I think that this would be too specific for such a tender document. We will see no doubt!

Les

[John S]

The tendering process for the route is now underway, expressions of interest are invited from competent operators who can demonstrate that they have the experience or capacity to undertake the role of a public service transport operator. This initial qualifying stage rigorously examines potential operators financial and practical background to ensure that, if successful, they have the abilities to fulfil the terms of the tender document. This stage is will be complete in early June.

[John S]

We have recently added to our website some information on the viability of the route, in the form of FAQ's, for the benefit of companies considering a bid.

It might also be of interest to this forum - www.dbag.org

Any comments or suggestions would be gratefully received - thanks to Davi S for updating the page.

John S

[Enough]

Post removed for administrative reasons.

[John S]

Hi ....,

Yes indeed good news, it is likely that a number of companies have made enquiries to the executive and a few of them will have submitted PQQ's however it will be the interpretation of that information by the executive that could be the biggest hurdle. We are already several steps ahead of where we were 3 years ago when the last tender failed but I wouldn't go as far as to say success was assured. I'm sure you'll agree, best to count the chickens after the eggs hatch.

John

[LO]

There was some concern that the recent tender deadline for the Campbeltown-Ballycastle Ferry at the beginning of June would pass with no company presenting the PQQ documentation, and the very real risk that the ferry would not come about through lack of bidders.

Russ

While this was always a risk, it is also true to say that there were greater grounds for optimism than pessimism this time round. Indeed we would have been most surprised if nobody had come forward. However, as John says, let's not get carried away, there are still a fair few hurdles ahead before we see a ferry berthing in Campbeltown harbour. All will become clearer in the next couple of weeks.

Les

[Enough]

Hi John & Les,

Thanks for the info. Whilst I would defer to the marvellous DBAG efforts this time around, last time around when we were shortlisted through the PQQ process we withdrew, partly as we understood there to be two other organisations in the process. It was a shock to discover we were the only ones in there.

This time around there has been a substantial fuel price increase (wait for the forthcoming outcry from islanders when CalMac rates skyrocket).

With regard to Campbeltown-Ballycastle, none of the tender conditions have been amended to reflect fuel price increase problems, nor any other inflation issues. No reflection has been given for the Ayrshire variant, or the 9,10,11 month issue, with several minor issues left over from the previous tender round being unaddressed. No matter what industry insiders or other informed sources suggest, it has to be a very good thing to know that there is at least one serious and experienced player now in the shorlist.

This in itself is an achievement, and should in a small way, be celebrated for all those disparate entities involved in this long process.

Very best regards,

Russ

[petewick]

Any more word on the ferry?
I believe that an announcement is imminent.
Petewick

[Enough]

Hi Pete,

There is at least one operator with the requisite ship having entered into the PQQ process. This is from a private company.

Then, interestingly, via a non-related Freedom of Information Act request it transpires that state ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne have been discussing the Campbeltown-Ballycastle route and tendering process in detail at Board of Director level. So it may well be that two or three potential operators are in the running.

The government are due to announce progress any day now.

It is looking firmer than at any point in the past five years that the new service will be back on soon.

Very best regards,

Russ

[petewick]

Thanks Russ,
As you know I live and work in Oban, if you here anything, I would be grateful if you could let me know of any developments.
Regards, Petewick