Change

The last time I was at the Ferguson Shipyard in Port Glasgow  was in December 2012 when the first of the hybrid ferries for Cal Mac  - the Hallaig - was just being finished.   

The yard was bought over by entrepreneur Jim McColl in August 2014 after it had gone into administration and it has been undergoing a transformation.  The third of the hybrids - the Catriona which is pictured at the yard today - is now finishing its trials having been launched at the end of last year and work is well underway on the two larger ferries.

I spent some time with Cal Mac this morning, discussing amongst other things the very difficult situation on the Islay route at present.  I then had a meeting with CMAL whose Andy Crossan  took me to see what is  currently being built.   

More ferries are needed , even over and above what is under construction and I will be continue to press for that as the Cal Mac fleet lacks a back up (or spare ) vessel and that lack is now really showing.  

But to be fair I was also  impressed by what is being done to get new vessels into service  and by the changes that are taking place at Ferguson's Marine on the Clyde. 

The picture is itself a change too - the first try out for my new Panasonic Lumix GX 80.     I am also very impressed with it  so far if a little bamboozled by the sheer range of choices and options it presents.