News from Mallaig Harbour: June 2026
While the rest of the country seemed to be basking in a heatwave at the start of the last week of May, the very uncommon sound of the ferry’s foghorn was being heard in Mallaig on Monday and Tuesday. We could say that this was to welcome back the MV Loch Bhrusda, but in reality, you could barely see from the Harbour to East Bay. As I am writing this on Thursday 28th, we are basking in sunshine, but unfortunately, it is not forecast to last beyond today.
It's obvious that the weather is improving by the number of yachts in the Marina, which, after a slow start, has got much busier over the last week. The Eda Frandsen and Bessie Ellen are also back for the season, which is a sure sign that summer is here! We are always happy to welcome them back.
We’ve also had fewer visiting fishing vessels landing this year, and this is evidenced by the fish landings figures. In April 2025, landings totalled over £1million for the month, as opposed to just under £300k this April.
The overnight ferry berth works were due to be finished by the end of May, but the latest forecast for completion is now 11th July. RJ MacLeod are making good progress, but the various issues that have been encountered along the way have resulted in a six week overrun from the original programme end date. There is still concrete to be poured for the deck, and Shearwater Marine Services are on-site welding the new piled face and adding the fixings for fenders, ladders etc. It is looking much nearer to completion now. The delay has meant that some of the workers had to leave their accommodation, and while some have managed to find alternative accommodation, you might notice that we have some bunk cabins on the Harbour, alongside RJ’s compound. As part of the contract for the works, RJ McLeod have to undertake some community engagement, so some of their staff attended Mallaig Primary School on Monday 18th May to talk to the children about buildings sites, the dangerous associated with them, and the opportunities for working in the construction industry. I then went with them to Mallaig High School on Tuesday 19th May, to talk to some of the S3s and senior pupils.
This was my second trip to the High School in May, as I undertook a CV Skills session with some of the senior pupils as part of the Developing Young Workforce programme on 5th May. We looked at some of the skills and attributes that employers would like to see on CVs, and how the young people could relate these to the experience they had form school and hobbies etc.
It has been a busy month with different events, starting with a trip to London on 28th April for the British Ports Association AGM and annual lunch. Unfortunately, delays to my train from Glasgow meant that I didn’t arrive in time for the AGM, but it was good to see colleagues from around the British Isles at the lunch.
The Deputy Harbour Master and I attended a day of Counter Terrorism Training organised by Police Scotland. Although we would hope that the threat from terrorism around Mallaig Harbour is low, it was interesting to understand the various threats and how they might impact on our operations, and more importantly, what we can do about them! In a similar vein, we ended the month with a trip to Oban for the West of Scotland Ports Committee meeting, hosted by CalMac, which brings together ports from around the west coast with various agencies to learn about security issues. We learned that one of the biggest issues at the moment is ‘at sea drops’, where consignments of illegal imports (mainly drugs) are being dropped off by cargo vessels passing off the west coast, to be picked up and brought ashore by smaller vessels. Modern technology means that the parcels can be tied to a float and have a GPS tracker installed so that they are easily recovered.
Our Auditors were on site w/c 18th May, in advance of our AGM, which this year will take place on Friday 12th June. Members of the public are welcome to attend the AGM.
We had to postpone the last Sound of Sleat Ferry User’s Group, which was due to take place on 13th May. Disruption has continued locally, and while the MV Coruisk returned to pick up service from 5th May, and we had the MV Lord of the Isles back for a short period, problems with her bow thruster meant that she was unable to berth in Mallaig, and was diverting to Oban or Uig on Skye. As I mentioned at the start, the MV Loch Bhrusda is back in Mallaig, and operating alongside MV Coruisk on the Mallaig/Armadale route. While this is still not the capacity we would have with the MV Loch Fyne, it is good to have a full timetable operating to and from Armadale.
Jacqueline McDonell