§ 20. Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what contingency plans his Department has made against a major ferry breakdown in the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet. [37634]
§ Mr. McLeishDecisions on the deployment of vessels in the event of a major vessel breakdown within the Caledonian MacBrayne network are operational matters for the company. I am well aware that the recent breakdown of the "Isle of Lewis" has made it necessary to redeploy vessels throughout the CalMac network and temporarily to suspend and re-schedule some services. I do regret the inconvenience which may be caused to the company's customers and I understand that Caledonian MacBrayne is doing all it can to minimise disruption of services. I hope that normal scheduled services can be resumed as soon as possible.