ERIK JORGEN OSTERGAARD (CALMAC) (1)

Well,  that's it,  confirmation at last.  Erik the Dane is now Non-Executive Chairman of both CalMac Ferries Ltd and its holding company,  David MacBrayne Ltd.  In other words,  Erik,  a resident of Denmark, is  top dog at our old ferry company, MacBrayne.

This appointment could  have been made only by the shareholders of those companies,  ie the Scottish Ministers.  The former Chairman of those companies,  David Campbell McGibbon,  has got his marching orders.  According to compnay blurb,  David is no longer on the Board of either company,  yet, as we write, and  according to the Registrar of Companies,  David is still a Director of both!  There's something wrong somewhere!

Erik was, hitherto, the notorious Chairman of the equally notorious company,  Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd,  better known as CMAL and where he had been a Director since 2006.  Erik left that sinecure on 31 December 2021 and was immediately appointed to the Boards of both CalMac and David MacBrayne.  

Erik is a quangoteer par excellence and likes nothing better than collecting honours by the bucketful.  If you doubt us,  have a look at our first blog on CMAL,  Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL)  (1),  below,  dated 26 December. Strangely,  as we write,  Erik is still listed in CMAL spiel as their Chairman!

If the past is anything to go by,  CalMac and MacBrayne will be in the doghouse ere too long,  just as Erik did with CMAL.  CMAL is the  company that is supposed to procure ferries  for CalMac and we all know the hash Erik made of that.  We only have to mention the MV Glen Sannox and the infamous Hull 802 and readers will get our drift.

Strangely,  neither CalMac nor MacBrayne has published any Board Minutes for ages.  We don't know why this is but we're chapping at the bit to learn more.  Also,  we are desperate to discover Erik's experience of West Coast ferries.  Indeed, we wonder if Erik has ever seen a CalMac ferry plying a West Coast route?

We're keeping watch,  Erik!