THE reappointment of three Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) board members for another three years has sparked outrage amongst Scottish islanders as they call the decision a “slap in the face”.
Cabinet Secretary for the Scottish Government, Fiona Hyslop, re-appointed the Copenhagen-based chair, Erik Østergaard, along with two executives, Tim Ingram and Grant Macrae, who the Stornoway Gazette revealed have never visited a CalMac port since being appointed.
Østergaard was previously the chair of the Caledonian Maritime Assets (CMAL) which oversaw the Ferguson ferry order which led to two vessels being seven years late and more than £300 million over budget.
The chair of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s transportation committee, Uisdean Robertson, called the appointments a “slap in the face” to the island's communities as he expressed his shock at the decision.
He told the Gazette: “After the recent revelation of how out of touch this Board of Directors is with the reality faced by islanders, it is shocking that Ministers have not taken this opportunity to appoint islanders to this Board.
“To reappoint three of those Board members who have shown so little regard for our communities that they have not even acquainted themselves with them is another slap in the face underlining that absolute lack of commitment to empowering island communities.”
There have been calls over the last few years for a change in the governance of CalMac and the whole ferry structure as the island’s communities want more of a say on the key service.
However, the calls for local members and authorities to have some form of representation on these key ferry boards have been largely unsuccessful as the Scottish Government has failed to act on these proposals.
The chair of CalMac’s Community Board, Angus Campbell, told the Gazette he had not been informed of the decision to re-appoint the three board members as he said: “You telling me about it is the first I’ve heard of it. They seem to be oblivious to what people think.
"From the Community Board point of view, we will be disappointed that we are again not hearing island voices in the mix when there is an opportunity. Once again, the opportunity to have island knowledge has been lost.”
He added: “It is all very well to have those working for the company out in the field but if the directors do not know their patch, then they really cannot have any idea of what is going on. I suppose the Scottish Government thinks re-appointments are the easy option.”
It had been revealed by a Freedom of Information request by the local paper that CalMac’s board was composed of individuals who have never visited any ports served by the company.
Both Ingram and Macrae had never visited any of the ports in the three years they were appointed to the board and Østergaard made a single visit to Stornoway and Oban after being appointed in 2022.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said “The reappointment of the Chair and the Board members ensures valuable expertise and experience remains within CalMac as it works to deliver the quality of service Ministers and island communities expect.
“Both the CalMac and CMAL Boards currently have islanders on them, making sure that the views and needs of island communities are represented at the highest level in each body.
“We always encourage island residents to apply for Board vacancies when they arise and it is encouraging to see that is occurring in CMAL and CalMac.”
