Taxpayers have been forced to pick up a tab of more than £820k in just three years to pay for food and accommodation for CalMac customers caught up in the SNP’s ferries chaos.
The Scottish Conservatives, who obtained the “eye-watering” figures via a Freedom of Information request, blame them on the ever-worsening state of the ferry fleet under the nationalists.
CalMac paid out a total of £823,179 in compensation for meals and accommodation to passengers affected by delays and cancellations to services.
This figure has increased year on year, with £202,462 paid out in 2021/22, £306,224 in 2022/23 and £314,493 in 2023/24.
Shadow transport secretary Sue Webber has slammed the SNP government for betraying islanders by failing to procure reliable ferries.
She said the decrepit CalMac fleet has decimated tourism, the day-to-day lives of entire communities and saddled Scottish taxpayers with soaring costs.
Scottish Conservative shadow transport secretary Sue Webber MSP 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.
“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.”
CalMac paid out £823,179 in meals and accommodation as compensation for passengers affected by ferry disruption. This figure has increased over the years. £202,462 was paid out in 2021/22, £306,223 was paid out in 2022/23, and £314,494 was paid out in 2023/24.
CalMac has been forced to rejig its services due to ‘exceptional’ problems. Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has rejigged services and vessel deployment plans until May 2025. Delays in repairs and new issues identified during annual maintenance mean the west coast operator is facing a shortage of ships. The charter of the privately-owned catamaran Alfred – said to cost £1m a month – has now been extended to the end of May to maintain services.
MV Glen Sannox and sister ship MV Glen Rosa are years late and have cost more than £400 million – four times the original £97 million contract price. The MV Sannox began sailing on 13 January 2025. (Sky News, 13 January 2025).
Ferguson Marine admitted there is a potential for Glen Rosa to be further delayed. John Petticrew, the interim CEO of Ferguson, admitted the Glen Rosa is “at risk” of slipping even further behind its September delivery deadline. The admission came during an excruciating exchange between Ferguson Marine’s interim chief executive John Petticrew and the yard’s chairman Andrew Miller with MSPs on Holyrood’s public audit committee in which the ferry bosses were told to cut the “waffle”. (The Scotsman, 5 February 2025).
Repairs for the aging CalMac fleet reached almost £100 million over a decade. The repair bill for eight of the largest of Scotland’s publicly-owned ferries has hit almost £100m in the past decade.
