News from Mallaig Harbour: SEPTEMBER 2026

It’s hard to believe that it is already the start of September, and summer is past before it really began here. Provident has completed her charters from Mallaig for the season, and Eda Frandsen has one more trip to go before heading south to Oban. There’s also a marked difference in the number of yachts at the Marina in the last week or so, after a busy season.

You can also tell that summer is almost over because the MV Lochnevis has headed off to dry dock for her annual overhaul. This is slightly earlier than normal. She headed off on 26th August, and is due back on service on 22nd September. The MV Loch Bhrusda and Western Isles Cruises ‘Larven’ are covering the Small Isles service in her absence. This means that, as with much of the rest of the season, MV Coruisk is operating a single vessel service to Skye, so capacity is limited. We have had various visitors from CalMac over the month, as although the infrastructure works are complete, there is still work to do to replace fencing, walkways etc. and we are taking a bit of time to work with CalMac to ensure that any work done results in the safest, most appropriate solution for everyone. One of the challenges is that the new area is much more open but is also likely to have gangways from berthing vessels being manoeuvred on the opposite side in addition to the berthing operations from the ferry on the linkspan side. We need to find a safe path for pedestrian access through this. This includes access to the statue at the end of the breakwater. We try to maintain as open access as possible for visitors to the Harbour, but we are asking people to be mindful that it is a working area, and to follow any instructions from CalMac staff and avoid berthing operations during their visit.

We also still have to install the sensors on the fendering along the linkspan berth to measure the speed of approach and pressure on the fendering of the various ferries, but especially the Lord of the Isles. The sensors have all been tested in the lab but there is still an issue with one of the interfaces, and until this has been overcome, there is no point in the sensors being installed on-site.

July was a much quieter month in terms of fish landings, but we have had a few more visiting vessels in August. This of course coincided with us having to clear the fish box store ready for the works to start on Jary’s Wharf, so the boxes (of which there are more than there seem to have been for months!) are currently in the prawn market. The compound itself has been dismantled as it was becoming unsafe. We have relocated Milligan Transport to the end of the fish pier ready for Aberdeen Marine Services to start the works. Weather permitting, the barge is arriving first week in September, a week later than planned, and the two mini cranes are already on site.

We had a visit to the Harbour on 25th August from Graham Simpson MSP. Graham is a Reform MSP and is part of the Transport Committee so was interested to learn more about the importance of Mallaig to the Small Isles and Knoydart for freight as well as passengers and vehicles. We have also had introductory meetings with Willie Rennie MSP, Maree Todd MSP and our own constituency MSP, Andrew Baxter over the last few weeks. These are all designed to raise awareness of Mallaig’s importance as a Transport Hub, and to support our future case for new ferry infrastructure. We were lucky with the weather for Graham’s visit, and he got to see for himself freight being loaded for the Knoydart peninsula, and to speak to both Joe Blower from Western Isles Cruises and Julie MacRae from CalMac to understand the limitations of our existing infrastructure. We also timed the photograph’s just right for the Lord of The Isle’s departure!

Jacqueline McDonell, CEO, Mallaig Harbour Authority with Graham Simpson MSP

On Wednesday 26th August, the Board of Mallaig Harbour Authority came together for a Strategy Workshop. This was facilitated by Donald MacLean, and supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and was designed to allow the Board to think about the future opportunities we have for the Boatyard; the old site of Andy Race’s factory, and the other assets we have around the Harbour. We were encouraged to think about these at a higher level, and to formulate a strategy statement against which all future developments are assessed. It was a really interesting, and thought-provoking day; encouraging us to think not only about where the future opportunities are, but also about the things we might do at the moment that take up a lot of time and energy for minimum return.  Our next Board Meeting is on the 11th September, and we will be talking about this a bit more before deciding the next steps. We’ll keep you posted!

Jacqueline McDonell