News from Mallaig Harbour: AUGUST 2026

July started off with much poorer weather than the rest of the country was enjoying, then perked up for a bit in the middle, and coming to the end of the month, the forecast was for rain again. We did have strong northerly winds mid-month, particularly on Friday 17th July, which resulted in the yachting marina being full, and us having to advise yachts to anchor in Loch Nevis, rather than raft up in the swell that we suffer from at the marina when winds are northerly! At the time of writing we didn’t have all the July figures yet, but the number of nights occupied at the Marina in June was up 40 on June 2025. 247 yachts stayed a total of 479 nights – our busiest ever June at the Marina! Our licence to sell Marine Diesel from a tank at the Marina has been approved, which will mean that yachts are not having to wheel fuel containers through the village. Unfortunately, we will not be able to sell petrol – Marina users will still have to get that directly from Johnstons.

Aerial View of Mallaig Boatyard

July also started with the great news that we had taken ownership of the boatyard from the administrators acting for Harland and Wolff. As a Board, we are really keen that this area provides an economic benefit for the wider community. We have some ideas, which include demolishing the existing buildings, getting the small slip operational again, and removing the rails and concreting the large slip so that it can be used to load and unload cargo or launch vessels from a mobile boatlift. We can also see an opportunity to extend the services we are able to offer around the Marina using the additional land we will have. However, we would welcome ideas that the community might have, and that would complement some of the ideas we have. An example of this is the suggestion we have had that we make some space available for a ‘pop up’ market throughout the summer months. If we had hard standing for boats over the winter, which was empty in the summer, then this could be an option! Once the buildings have been demolished and we have a better idea of the space available, we will hold an open meeting for the community to come along; have a look at the plans, and make suggestions – although please do get in touch in the meantime if you have ideas.

Image from Marine Traffic

The other big news is that the overnight ferry berth is finished! We are delighted with the end result, including what feels like acres of concrete space on the breakwater. The berth was in use as soon as it was ready, and a variety of boats have been in since, including the MV Coruisk for her maintenance day on 6th July. Caroline Connelly and Lyndsey Whiteside visited the Harbour on Tuesday 30th July to attend the final progress meeting for the works, and to see for themselves the difference that the berth will have to our capacity, and the flexibility we will have for berthing ferries in the Outer Harbour. We are very grateful to Transport Scotland for both their financial support towards the project, and the ongoing support they are providing as we look at the options for new ferry infrastructure going forward. Steven Gourlay was on site on 23rd July to take some final photos, while the berth and the new deck surface were empty! We don’t have drone photos from the first weekend it was operational, but this screenshot from MarineTraffic gives an idea of how many boats were in!

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a ferry to use the new berth, as the MV Loch Bhrusda was covering the Sound of Harris route for the MV Loch Portain, which means that the Coruisk was operating a single vessel service on the Mallaig-Armadale route, and Western Isles Cruises and Milligan Transport providing additional capacity to the Small Isles on a Saturday. I attended an online meeting about the potential for a second phase of the ‘Islands Resilience Fund’, which was set up to provide support to island businesses affected by ferry disruption. It was eye opening to appreciate the sheer scale of disruption throughout the network, and the wider implications that this has on various routes. As an example, because freight for the Small Isles is dropped off in Mallaig for onward transportation, the issue of driver hours when ferries are disrupted had not really occurred to me.

Although we are just finished the overnight ferry berth project, we are already looking ahead to the next one, which will be the work on Jary’s Wharf. This is due to start at the beginning of September, and will be phase 2 of the works. As we did for phase 1, we will need to clear the area including the box compound, and the area in front of the prawn market to get the works done. Aberdeen Marine will be undertaking the works, and will be setting up their compound in the space between the feed shed and ice plant that has just been cleared by RJ McLeod! Because the works to the supporting pillars are partly tidal, they will take around 4 months to complete, and we are hoping that they will be clear by Christmas.

We were all saddened to hear of the death of an Inverlussa crew member in Orkney earlier in the month. We have so many Inverlussa boats operating from the harbour, and as a result have come to know so many of the ‘family’ of crew on these boats. Our sympathies are with everyone affected by this tragedy.

Jacqueline McDonell