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By TOM GORDON DEPUTY SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 19:49 BST, 20 April 2025 | Updated: 07:54 BST, 21 April 2025
Taxpayers are picking up a £1million bill for food and hotels for travellers stranded by the chaos on Scotland’s state ferry network.The ‘eye-watering’ sum was paid out for ‘overnight accommodation’, snacks, meals and drinks by CalMac for disrupted sailings since 2021.The Scottish Conservatives said the scale of the compensation should ‘shame’ the SNP ministers responsible for ‘the never-ending ferries scandal’.A freedom of information release from CalMac shows the state ferry operator paid £202,462 in 2021/22, £306,223 in 2022/23 and £314,494 in 2023/24, a grand sum of £823,179.Based on previous costs, the bill for 2024/25 is likely to take the total well past £1million.The figures do not include compensation for alternative mileage incurred or ticket refunds, which could add around 50 per cent to the final bill, based on recent years.Tory transport spokesman Sue Webber accused ministers of betraying islanders by failing to replace ageing ferries, damaging tourism and saddling the public with the expense.She said: ‘This eye-watering bill for Scottish taxpayers should shame SNP ministers because it stems directly from their incompetence. SNP mismanagement has left CalMac with an ageing, unreliable fleet, which means that it’s a roll of the dice whether lifeline services will be late or cancelled. CalMac has paid more than £1million to cater for passengers affected by ferry delays and cancellations CalMac’s ageing fleet desperately needs new vessels but of the two being built in Scotland, only the Glen Sannox has entered service.‘These cancellations have a devastating impact on betrayed islanders, who are regularly unable to get to work or hospital appointments. Then there’s the impact on the local economy, because tourists are either put off visiting our islands or delayed in getting to and from them.‘If Nationalist ministers delivered a ferry network that worked, then taxpayers wouldn’t be forced to shell out on meals or accommodation for passengers.‘It’s disgraceful that not a single SNP minister has been sacked for their unforgivable and never-ending ferries scandal.’The repair bill for the eight largest ferries in CalMac’s 36-strong fleet was £100million in the past decade as ageing vessels struggled to operate past their expected lifespans. Timetable changes, route alterations and delays and cancellations are commonplace.SNP ministers agreed to buy two flagship CalMac ferries for the Arran and Outer Hebrides routes in 2015 for a fixed price of £97million from the Ferguson Marine yard on the Clyde. But the cost spiralled to £450million and the contract over-ran seven years.Only one ferry, the Glen Sannox, has entered service. Its sister vessel, the Glen Rosa, is set for delivery in September but there are fears of possible further delays amid late changes.State-owned ferry procurement body CMAL has ordered four smaller ferries from Turkey, with the first due for delivery this year, but the vessels are also running late.A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: ‘The Scottish Government is investing in six new major vessels to serve Scotland’s ferry network by 2026, alleviating the need for extensive repairs on older vessels and improving reliability.‘To improve service in the short term, we have also purchased the MV Loch Frisa and chartered the MV Alfred. We continue to work with operators and CMAL to improve resilience across our networks.’A CalMac spokeswoman said: ‘When disruption does occur, we do our utmost to get customers on alternate sailings or routes. When that isn’t something we can do, we have a robust passenger rights policy in place to ensure affected customers are compensated for food, drink and, when appropriate, accommodation costs they incur.‘We’ll welcome 13 new vessels to the CalMac fleet by 2029. This will lead to a reduction in technical issues and cancellations as ageing vessels are replaced.’
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Taxpayers hit with £1m bill over CalMac ferries chaos
