CalMac pay-outs 'quadruple'

The compensation CalMac paid out to customers soared four-fold over the last four years, according to a freedom of information request by Scottish Labour.

 

"In 2018-19 – the year that the delayed Ferguson’s Marine ferries were originally scheduled to be delivered – a total of £159,000 was paid out to CalMac customers for disruptions," a Labour spokesperson said. "This works out at an average of £13,250 a month.

 

"In the first four months of 2022-23 alone, CalMac had already paid out £215,000 – an average of £53,000 per month. This means passengers are facing more delays and disruption on CalMac routes, costing the publicly-owned operator four times more than it did in 2018-19.

 

"The late Ferguson’s Marine ferries along with years of poor planning under the SNP have left island communities with an ageing fleet and left taxpayers with spiralling costs."

 

Scottish Labour Islands spokesperson Rhoda Grant added: “These spiralling costs expose what a mess the SNP have made of lifeline ferry services in Scotland.

 

“Our ferry fleet has been left to rust because of years of failed planning, as well as the ferry fiasco where the Scottish Government have failed to deliver two new ferries.

 

“Now islanders are stuck with chaos, cancellations and delays while taxpayers foot the bill.

 

“The SNP have no short-term answers and no long-term plan to fix this shambles. We need a national ferry building programme that supports Scotland’s shipbuilding industry and delivers the ferries we need. In the meantime, they must buy additional tonnage to have enough capacity to cover the daily breakdowns that are happening due to the ageing fleet.”

 

A spokesperson for Transport Scotland, the national transport agency delivering the Scottish Government's vision, said: “It is worth pointing out that the vast majority of cancelled sailings related to weather impacts. In January and February 2022 alone, 92.75 per cent of cancellations were due to either weather or Covid-19.

 

"The facts show that in 2022, of the 171,403 scheduled sailings across the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service network, 6.6 per cent were cancelled, and of these, 1 per cent were cancelled due to technical issues.

 

“It is clearly a decision for a ship’s master as to whether or not a vessel should sail and it would not be appropriate to question that professional judgement – which is made on safety grounds. It’s important those with expertise are given the respect to do so.

 

“In the last 12 months alone we have placed orders for four new major vessels in addition to the two already under construction at Port Glasgow. The Scottish Government has invested more than £2 billion in our ferry services since 2007 and we continue to work towards introducing more capacity and greater resilience on the Clyde and Hebrides network.”