AS CalMac’s ferry plans took another body blow this week with talks over the provision of the catamaran Pentalina closing fruitless, the consequences for some island businesses look serious.

It means the prospect of no dedicated summer season vessel for three years across a number of communities that count tourism as one of their main industries.

A group of independent councillors on Uist and Bara said it was hoped the Pentalina move would plug the gap after the delay separately announced over the second of the two new CalMac ferries, Hull 802, which is due to serve the Uist/Harris to Skye route.

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“Given the current timeframe plus the additional crew familiarisation of a number of months its first appearance for a summer season will be 2024,” the councillors said as they called for Scottish Government action.

Andrew Banks, Pentland Ferries managing director, said that “issues, which fundamentally stem from the very different status of a public-funded service compared to a small private operator such as ourselves, have given us no alternative but to withdraw from the discussions”.

Robbie Drummond, managing director at CalMac, said it was “surprised and disappointed”, and is resuming talks with Transport Scotland.

The 802’s revised delivery date from Ferguson Marine is between April and July 2023, and CalMac said, once delivered, it requires “an eight-week period for operational readiness and familiarisation before the vessel is introduced into service”.

The Herald: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson in the garden at 10 Downing Street last month. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson in the garden at 10 Downing Street last month. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA.

A joint Scottish and Northern Irish effort flags the scale of worry over international trade post-Brexit, writes Business Editor Ian McConnell in his Called to Account column.

“It says much about the degree of concern over the impact of the Conservative Government’s much-vaunted trade deal with Australia on farmers and food producers in Scotland and Northern Ireland that rural affairs ministers from the two nations have joined forces to sound an 11th-hour warning,” he writes.

In what by all accounts was a textbook transition, Sir David Murray passed ownership of his family business on to his sons this week.

Murray Capital Group, which has interests in metals, property and wine, has been taken over by former Rangers owner Sir David’s sons David and Keith under the planned transition of ownership, writes Deputy Business Editor Scott Wright, who added the brothers acquired the share capital of the company for an undisclosed sum in March, while Sir David remains chairman of the group.

The embattled Shetland oil pioneer Hurricane Energy has parted company with its chairman and four directors after facing a boardroom coup attempt led by a dissident investor, Business Correspondent Mark Williamson reveals this week.

The boardroom shake-up continues an extraordinary sequence of events at Hurricane, which suffered the indignity of having its proposed restructuring plan snubbed by the High Court last week.

A Lockerbie firm hails the chance to show off its waste plastic road to motorsport elite at the world’s first electric car racing event in Italy.

Toby McCartney, co-founder and chief executive, said “there is a real opportunity for MacRebur to play a critical role in laying the foundations for a greener future in motorsport”.