05-07-2025
After £500million scandal of Scotland's delayed and over-budget vessels, new SNP shambles as 10,000 ferry trips scrapped
The SNP 's ferry fiasco deepened last night as shock new figures revealed more than TEN THOUSAND trips to and from Scotland's islands had to be cancelled.
An astonishing 10,809 crossings were scrapped by Scotland's crisis-hit ferry operator CalMac in just over two years due to technical faults.
It comes as the state-owned firm has suffered years of problems caused by its ageing fleet, which provides a lifeline to Scotland's island communities.
Services have also been impacted by the almost £500m scandal surrounding delivery of its two new ferries for the Arran service, the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa, which have been dogged by years of delays and spiralling costs.
Last week, a Holyrood committee warned a state-owned shipyard tasked with building the ferries, Ferguson Marine, that it had 'failed to meet the standards expected of a publicly funded body'.
And in May ministers brushed over grave concerns about CalMac's record by awarding it a £3.7billion contract to run the Clyde and Hebrides services for another ten years.
Last night, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene slammed the SNP for failing Scotland's islanders.
He said: 'These figures reveal just how much chaos the SNP are causing island communities.
'Our island communities are being treated as second class citizens, lacking the basic right to access the same public services as mainland Scots.
'The SNP's failure to deliver new lifeline ferries has anchored islanders with an ageing fleet that is in constant need of repair, at constant risk of cancellation and costing millions in repair bills.
'My constituents on the west coast are suffering the depressing reality of losing business, missing events and hospital appointments and, frankly, they have lost faith in the Scottish Government's ability to fix those problems.'
The figures, obtained by Mr Greene's party under freedom of information laws, show that over a 851-day period, there were 10,809 cancelled sailings, which occurred on 548 out of those 851 days - around 64 per cent of the time.
A number of vital routes have suffered delays or cancellations owing to a 'lack of vessel availability'.
A key factor in timetable, route changes and cancellations is the age of CalMac's 35-strong fleet.
Many vessels - most of which are leased from the state-owned ferry procurement agency CMAL -have been forced to operate beyond their expected lifespans, leading to growing levels of breakdowns.
The Mail on Sunday has told how over the past decade, the repair bill for CalMac's eight largest ferries was £100million.
And last month, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told John Swinney at First Minister's Questions that overall, the company had spent £250million on its breakdown-prone fleet since 2014.
Examples of swingeing delays due to breakdowns include the 32-year-old MV Caledonian Isles, which is supposed to cover the busy Arran route and has required more than £22million of repairs. It has been out of service since January 2024.
In April, it emerged taxpayers had been left with a £1million compensation bill for food and hotels for travellers stranded by cancelled and disrupted CalMac sailings since 2021.
Scandal has dogged SNP ministers in particular after they signed off the purchase of two CalMac boats, the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa, for the West Coast in 2015 for £97million.
While the Glen Sannox was delivered seven years late, the Glen Rosa is set to be delivered eight years late, with the total cost for the vessels passing £460million.
Mr Sarwar recently went further and said Mr Swinney's SNP had spent almost £500million on the two ferries - and 'cannot be trusted with the public's money'.
Despite the problems, ministers awarded CalMac a £3.7billion contract to run the Clyde and Hebrides services for another ten years in May.
And last week, the state-owned shipyard which was tasking with building Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, Ferguson Marine, was at the centre of a scathing Holyrood report.
The public audit committee said a host of failures and a battered reputation had left Ferguson Marine with an empty order book and at risk of collapse - and warned that without more 'urgent investment' from taxpayers, the 'viability' of the Clydeside yard was in doubt.
A CalMac spokeswoman said that the more than 10,000 cancelled trips represented just five per cent of their planned sailings since 2023.
She added: 'In a typical day we operate over 450 sailings and our staff work hard to provide a good service in challenging circumstances. In fact, poor weather remains the most common cause of disruption.
'In terms of technical problems, these do happen with an aging fleet and in increasingly challenging weather.
'However, the arrival of 13 new vessels by 2029, which started with MV Glen Sannox in January this year, will reduce these and modern vessels will improve the reliability and resilience of services across the whole network.'
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: 'Between January 1 2023 and April 30 2025, over 95 per cent of the 391,139 scheduled sailings operated.
'We are investing in six, new, major vessels to serve Scotland's ferry network from early 2025, alleviating the need for extensive repairs on older vessels and improving reliability.
'Contracts have also been signed for a further seven, new, smaller vessels to serve the Clyde and Hebrides ferry network.
'CalMac are delivering services in increasingly challenging weather and the arrival of 13 new vessels by 2029, which started with MV Glen Sannox in January this year, will reduce technical issues and these modern vessels should also be able to operate in more challenging weather and sea conditions.'
