THE man at the helm of CalMac’s bid to stay afloat says he is confident the company will be sailing for many years to come.

CalMac inject more than £9million a year into Inverclyde’s economy, employing 200 at their Gourock HQ and running the Wemyss Bay-Rothesay crossing and Gourock-Dunoon town centre passenger-only route via its Argyll Ferries offshoot. 

Managing director Martin Dorchester was hired in 2013 to steer the tender team in the competition to keep operating the west coast and Hebridean routes.

They face strong opposition from Serco for the eight-year contract, starting in October.

Both companies have submitted their bids, and the new Scottish Government will announce their decision before the end of May.

Barnsley-born Mr Dorchester, 52, said the company plan to invest even more at their various ports of call through cultural and other events to encourage an interest in sailing on their ships.

They are also working to introduce wi-fi on all of their vessels, although he said his was not always easy in remote locations.

He said: “We’re looking at how we can be more flexible in the way we run our business. 

“We need to be more efficient and to manage things better, but, with the great people we have in the company, I’m confident we can win the tender and meet the challenges that lie ahead.”

Mr Dorchester said 65 per cent of the tender outcome would be based on how much money CalMac and Serco say they need to run the routes, and the rest would depend on the quality of service offered.

A study by the Fraser of Allander Institute says CalMac is one of the largest companies headquartered in Scotland, and is the UK’s largest ferry network 
operator. 

Outlining CalMac’s economic impact on Inverclyde, the study says CalMac supports the employment of a further 262 local residents, once the effect of wage spending by its employees is taken into account.

Average pay for CalMac employees in Inverclyde is £30,600, and researchers say it underpins one in every 136 jobs in the area. 

For Scotland’s economy as a whole, the report reveals CalMac employs 1,476 
people and supports a total of 5,883 jobs in mainland and island communities.

Politicians campaigning for lifeline ferry services to be retained at CalMac, have pointed out that Inverclyde jobs are also supported by getting ships built at Ferguson’s of Port Glasgow and maintained at Greenock’s Garvel Drydock.

Mr Dorchester comes from a retailing and consultancy background, having worked for Ofcom (the government’s Office of Communications), Royal Mail, Sainsbury’s, Argos and as consumer electronic company Dixon’s chief executive for ‘business to business’ operations.

He visited Wemyss Bay and Bute many years ago after meeting his wife, Fiona, who is from Johnstone, but never imagined then that one day he would be leading the endeavours to retain this and many other routes for CalMac.

Passionate about the company and its links with communities around Scotland, he said: “The people who run CalMac are the right people to do it. 

“I think CalMac can do a lot more than it’s done to help grow the communities we work with. 

“There have been uncertainties this year, with some staff putting off holidays or changing home, for example, but our people have been galvanised about what we can do.

“Our attitude is: let’s make it happen!”