Chamber and committees

Robbie Drummond, are there particular vulnerabilities in the west?

That is about climate adaptation. However, for climate mitigation, how can the vessels be designed to be net zero? You will have heard some of the evidence that we have just had from the Norwegians about how they are driving innovation through the tendering process to include electric and hydrogen propulsion systems in an attempt to bring down cost over time and to increase the supply chain. What are your thoughts on that? Where does the future lie, and how do we get there?

Would you therefore be looking more at ammonia bunker fuel than hydrogen and propulsion?

That is not propulsion, though.

My final question is about co-ordinating ferry timetabling with other modes of transport, particularly bus and rail, through ticketing, and how you co-ordinate action during service disruption. What work are you doing on that at the moment?

Yes—and a brief comment.

I was a member of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, which considered the super-affirmative instrument, and I do not remember those concerns being raised then. Quite unexpected concerns have arisen, and it is good to hear that the minister has been engaging with religious organisations and others.

Have any other sectors raised concerns? Is it just churches and some third sector bodies that have particularly complex institutional structures that have raised concerns, or are any other sectors doing so?

Okay. Thank you.

How do Statens vegvesen and the municipalities involve communities at the outset with the development of ferry service specifications? What does that look like in practice? What engagement takes place with communities? How can they influence the specification of a ferry service?

I am looking at the CalMac stats for the number of cancellations because of adverse weather and some other categories. They seem to paint a picture of climate change and how weather will change in the future and cause significant disruption and challenges. Is there enough of an understanding of what is coming with climate change and how that will affect vessel specification, the way that ports and harbours will operate and the way that services should be configured in the future?

I want to ask you about catamarans. We have had quite a lot of evidence about using larger numbers of smaller vessels to achieve improved capacity service reliability, and some industry experts have mentioned having more fleet-of-foot catamarans. What are your thoughts on that, or is that completely CMAL’s concern?