CalMac ferries problems dominate election campaigning

Ferries and the problems besetting CalMac's services have dominated many of the day's exchanges on the election campaign.

First Minister John Swinney travelled to Stornoway, where he announced a new SNP government would set up a £10m resilience fund to help communities and businesses affected by the recent ferry disruption.

The SNP leader apologised for the problems the day after CalMac admitted almost a third of its fleet of ferries serving the Clyde coast and islands were not operating.

His political opponents claimed it was a problem of the SNP's own making, and Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said Swinney should be "ashamed" of the "ferry fiasco".

• Ferries in the spotlight on election trail - live page

CalMac's network has been under sustained pressure in recent weeks, with many ferries needing unplanned repairs while others are away for scheduled maintenance.

At one point this week, 10 vessels from the 32-strong west of Scotland ferry fleet were out of action due to technical faults, annual overhauls or crewing issues.

The operator's chief executive, Duncan Mackison, said the firm was facing an "unprecedented scenario" which had worsened, and he apologised for the effect this was having on communities.

Swinney arrived in Stornoway on the CalMac ferry MV Loch Seaforth.

He said he was conscious of the impact of ferry disruption on people's lives and businesses and pledged £10m for islanders affected by the disruption should his party win in May.

"We have, of course, a great deal of investment in new vessels for the ferry network," he said.

"We faced a perfect storm between the combination of the vessels on annual maintenance and some breakdowns that have taken place.

"Of course we have a new vessel that's just joined the fleet, the MV Isle of Islay, and will get three other vessels that will join the fleet in the course of 2026," he added.

But the news of ongoing problems with the ferry fleet led to Swinney's political opponents rounding on the first minister.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay campaigned at the Clyde ferry ports in Troon and Ardrossan and attacked the SNP for its record on procuring new ferries, accusing Swinney of "gaslighting islanders and taxpayers."

Findlay said: "The ferry fiasco is a totem of SNP incompetence of which John Swinney should be utterly ashamed.

"They've failed island communities by squandering around half a billion pounds on two dodgy vessels that will never be right."

While CalMac operates the west coast network, the ferries themselves and some harbours are owned by another state-owned company CMAL, and Transport Scotland also has role.

Labour promised to fix the "broken" ferries system with a single agency, giving islanders a say in decisions about the services and providing financial support for businesses on the islands.

The party's Scottish leader, Anas Sarwar, said: "Our island communities know more than most that, after 20 years of SNP government, Scotland needs change," he said.

"They have made a mess of the ferries and, yes, that has impacted the islands but it has actually impacted on broader Scotland's economy."

Labour earlier released figures suggesting more than 20,000 cancellations have been caused by issues with ferries and ports since 2023.

The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Alex Cole-Hamilton, said the Scottish Parliament "could have, and should have" been recalled this week to handle the ferry crisis.

He said his party would extend compensation to islanders and coastal communities affected and ask for assistance from the UK government in freeing up vessels for use on the routes.

"In the first year of the parliament we would introduce a ferries bill which would make sure this would never happen again by introducing a rolling, 30-year procurement programme which makes good our fleet," he said.

Cole-Hamilton said the SNP's £10m resilience did not go far enough and indicated the party is in "full-on panic mode".

The Scottish Greens said those badly affected by disruption to CalMac services should be given at least a year's worth of free travel.

Speaking on a visit to Orkney, co-leader Gillian Mackay said: "We clearly need to look at the maintenance schedule for these ferries and the problems that have happened in terms of the number of them that are out of service, all in a one-er.

"But we must in the immediate term support the islanders who have been really badly affected by this.

"We need to look at how we can support these islanders to make sure that really important things like hospital appointments aren't missed."

Reform's Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, described the situation as "embarrassing" for an "island nation".

He said: "We have a great marine tradition in Scotland and you do think to yourself 'how have we got ourselves in this position?'. Something is not right"

"You've got a government that's been in for 19 years, they're tired, they're all out of ideas.

"This is a management issue. There's something gone wrong here in the procurement and the management. It needs to have a business approach taken to it," he added.