News from Mallaig Harbour: April 2026
I am writing this after the official start of British Summer Time, although with the weather over the last week or two, it’s feeling like we are back to winter. Fish landings for February of this year were down on last year, and it would have been a worse picture had the Razor Clam trial not been ongoing, with four vessels landing through Mallaig.
Looking back on March 2025 news, the Harbour Authority had hosted the first meeting to establish a Ferry Users’ Group. This group has had its work cut out for it this month, with several challenges arising. After securing charter vessels to operate the route until the MV Coruisk was due back on 8th April, a combination of technical issues and weather meant that these charter vessels were unable to start service as planned. CalMac seem to be facing a perfect storm in terms of vessel breakdown, which, on top of planned maintenance, has resulted in eight large vessels being out of action in the run up to Easter, and CalMac issuing a statement that ‘"almost every island served by a major vessel" is facing disruption.
In more positive news, the works are still progressing well on the overnight ferry berth. The concrete anchor blocks are all completed, and the rock infill has started. The next stage is the concrete ‘deck’. This will be done in stages so that access is always maintained for ferry operations, and is likely to take around four weeks.
We have also contracted with ArtDec, to tidy up the inside of the prawn market. After many years of wondering what the best way forward with the prawn market was, we have decided to give it a bit of a facelift. This started last year with the installation of the shower, and the Men’s Shed have then been undertaking smaller bits of work for us, including painting some of the doors, and replacing panelling to the store doors at the rear. Artdec are now painting the inside of the market itself, including the roof beams. This will ensure that the building remains food safe. We have plans to replace the main roof, and to clad the exterior of the building, which hopefully will take place over the coming year.
North West Marine have been and have checked and tightened the anchor chains at the Marina, ready for the season. We are ready to open for the season, and have recruited two new staff, Gavin Pearce, who has been working at Doune on Knoydart, and Millie Downie. They have big shoes to fill, replacing Gena, who has been with us for the last five seasons, but who has had to take a step back this year. We will all miss Gena, as will the Marina patrons, but we are looking forward to working with Millie and Gavin.
We received information this month from Transport Scotland on the Ferry Users Surveys that they are promoting. We have shared this on our Facebook page, and you can access it following this link. It closes on 17th May, so there is a bit more time to get your thoughts together for this one!
Jacqueline McDonell
