Displaying items by tag: Burns & Laird

10th October 2021

Proud Scottish Ferry Industry Buffeted by Failure

Investigation: The turmoil engulfing Scotland’s ferry service is fuelling island depopulation and leaving remote businesses “teetering on the brink”, according to community leaders. Above: The raised bow visor of the veteran ferry Hebridean Isles, dating to 1985, Afloat adds operates between Kennacraig (above) on Mull of Kintyre (Argyll) to Islay, the southernmost of the inner Hebrides Isles that is closest to Northern Ireland.

Vessels carrying passengers were once built to last, now under the Scottish National Party (SNP) they are not being built at all.

The operator at the heart of Scotland’s west coast ferry crisis, Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), has been around for much longer than most Scots realise.

Today’s CalMac can trace its roots back to the middle of the 19th century when the ship-owning brothers George and James Burns struck a succession deal.

They were the Burns of Burns & Laird Line, whose steamers linked ports such as Liverpool and Glasgow with Belfast right up to the 1970's.

But the deal George Burns did in 1851 was to secure the future of G & J Burns’s local coastal ferry services between Scotland’s western seaboard and its numerous island communities.

The brothers sold that Scottish arm of their business to David Hutcheson, the chief clerk.

The Times has more on the story.

Published in Ferry

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Coronavirus (COVID-19): Irish Sailing & Boating

Since restrictions began in March 2020, the Government is preparing for a 'controlled and gradual return to sport' and the 2020 sailing fixtures are being tentatively redrafted by yacht clubs, rowing clubs angling and diving clubs across Ireland as the country enters a new phase in dealing with the Coronavirus. The hope is that a COVID-19 restrictions might be eased by May 5th as Sport Ireland has asked national governing bodies for information on the challenges they face.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called coronavirus.

To help stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) everyone has been asked to stay at home. But some people may need to do more than this.

You may need to either:

You do these things to stop other people from getting coronavirus.

Restricted movements

Everybody in Ireland has been asked to stay at home. You should only go out for a few reasons, such as shopping for food.

But you need to restrict your movements further if you:

live with someone who has symptoms of coronavirus, but you feel well

are a close contact of a confirmed case of coronavirus

have returned to Ireland from another country

You need to restrict your movements for at least 14 days.

But if the person you live with has had a test and it is negative, you don't need to wait 14 days. You should still follow the advice for everyone - stay at home as much as possible.

Close contact

This is only a guide but close contact can mean:

spending more than 15 minutes of face-to-face contact within 2 metres of an infected person

living in the same house or shared accommodation as an infected person

How to restrict your movements

Follow the advice for everybody - stay at home.