Viewpoint / ‘It’s like being on a ship with no rudder’
Retired Yell Sound ferry skipper Steven Spence speaks out on the current state of the inter-island ferry service and calls for urgent action to prevent it from getting worse
Yet again we in the North Isles are being let down badly by the incompetence of the management in our ferry service.
Since the roro ferries began in the 1970s, we have had an excellent service with over 260,000 people crossing Yell Sound alone every year.
But over the last couple of years the service has become an utter shambles which is entirely due to mismanagement. It is so sad to see such a first-class service getting destroyed so needlessly in this manner.
Breakdowns will occasionally happen, but crew shortage is totally unacceptable and is caused by the shambolic blunders of management.
There are plenty of ex-ferry staff and other seafarers in Shetland who could step in, but never get asked. Some of them have contacted Sella Ness offering help but get declined.
The service has become very unreliable. You can no longer guarantee to get to where you need to be on time, and you can’t guarantee to get back either.
When the service goes down to a single vessel, the idea of a shuttle service maybe seems a good idea but is actually pointless. The time it takes to load the ferry, sail across, unload/load again wouldn’t be any faster than what timetabled sailings take. You also need to take into consideration the weather conditions, tidal conditions and the experience of the Master and the crew.
People don’t just go aboard the ferries for a jolly. Everyone is on the ferry for a reason whether it be for work, business, hospital appointment, catching a flight etc… So therefore, it is essential to be able to book ferries to guarantee getting to your destination on time.
Bookings should not get suspended when down to a single vessel. An amended bookable single vessel timetable could easily be set up and people would need to re-book. This will guarantee their travel.
Sadly, the ferry service has lost a lot of very experienced and excellent staff over the last few years due to how they have been badly treated and not appreciated by management.
They would need to learn to treat their staff with a bit of respect to try and retain them. Another issue is staff leaving the ferries to work on salmon boats for better pay and conditions. Management should be doing more to prevent this happening and encourage more locals to join.
A large number of agency staff are being hired to crew the ferries at present. This is not going down well with the local staff as the agency staff are on higher wages than the locals, get provided with accommodation, travel expenses, vehicle and food, which the local staff don’t get.
The cost of this must be astronomical. Over a million pounds a year has been quoted. Considering the council claim there isn’t enough money in the budget for necessary maintenance and day to day running, it is astonishing that a blank cheque book has miraculously appeared to pay for an endless flow of expensive agency staff. Where is this vast amount of money suddenly coming from? This can’t go on.
Furthermore, there are apparently seven marine superintendents employed in Sella Ness at present. All that is required is one marine superintendent and an assistant. More unnecessary expense.
Hats off to the ferry crews who do a tremendous job and pull out the stops to keep the service going. But they say the goodwill has completely gone between staff and management and morale is at an all time low. This makes it much more difficult to get staff to come in on their days off to cover sickness at short notice.
They also say some of their management have no maritime experience or qualifications and are incompetent. It’s a bit like being on a ship with no rudder.
Our ferry service is our lifeline and is our road. Reliability is crucial. It is in a seriously bad state just now and will get worse (if that’s possible) unless management can get a grip.
Everyone affected needs to complain right through to the chief executive of the council as well as MSPs and MP.
Personally, as an ex-ferry skipper with 23 years’ experience there is a lot more I could say, but I will keep that up my sleeve just now. Watch this space.
This ViewPoint contribution is based on a social media post Steven shared on his personal Facebook page at the weekend.
