CalMac Scotland ferries news huge relief amid litany of woe

The Herald Scotland

15-05-2025

We have had to endure a litany of UK privatisation disasters.
This has included the privatisation of the former British Rail, which has led to no end of trials and tribulations for many of the train operating companies and of course their customers. This privatisation also took in the setting up and collapse of infrastructure company Railtrack.
On the nuclear power front, we had the sorry saga of British Energy.
Then there has been the privatisation of the English water sector. And the UK electricity and gas sector privatisation has surely not delivered for consumers.
In the early 1990s, when working for The Oban Times and travelling regularly to remote and island communities, I covered the story on talk at that stage that the CalMac operation could be privatised. Thankfully, this did not happen.
There are many problems with privatisation when it comes to services of vital importance, and we have seen some of these displayed in spectacular style in the aforementioned litany of woe.
CalMac has, of course, not had its troubles to seek in recent times with its ageing fleet having resulted in significant breakdowns and disruption.
Also in the headlines has been the long delay in the building of two vessels for CalMac by Ferguson Marine at Port Glasgow, the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa. These problems have not, of course, been the fault of CalMac.
The contract to build these ferries has been a matter for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited - which awarded and has managed it and like CalMac is owned by the Scottish Government - and Ferguson Marine.
The matter has obviously affected CalMac's services, given these two new vessels had been expected much earlier, and that has added to the challenges facing the ferry operator.
And many of CalMac's customers might perceive all the problems arising from the ageing fleet are of the ferry operator's making, even though that is not the case given the Scottish Government holds the purse strings and CMAL procures the new vessels.
It is easy to understand islanders' frustration in particular.
They are so reliant on the lifeline crossings provided by CalMac and we must not underestimate the effect on islanders of disruptions to services.
Island economies, and the businesses operating within them, are also affected heavily by any disruption.
In this regard, it was interesting in January to hear the views of the finance director of Auchrannie Resort at Brodick on Arran, Colin Morrison.
He highlighted ferry disruption 'over the last few winters', and declared: 'If people have come one winter and have been hit, they are less likely to come the following winter.'
Auchrannie highlighted hopes of a rebound in winter occupancy with the arrival of Caledonian MacBrayne's Glen Sannox ferry, after the resort saw its pre-tax losses widen to £474,260 in the year to March 31, 2024, from £111,447 in the prior 12 months.
Mr Morrison in January revealed an improvement in the financial performance in the year to March 31, 2025, declaring: 'We have done a lot of work on containing costs this year. We are hoping we will finish 2024/25 not quite break-even but hopefully a lot closer to it than we originally thought.'
However, looking to the future, what is clearly important for Auchrannie is a reliable ferry service to help drive up occupancy.
And Auchrannie in January revealed hopes that it could - if ferry services proved more reliable over the following 18 months to two years and enabled year-round occupancy to return to pre-pandemic levels of 90%-plus - then consider further expansion.
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Mr Morrison said of the increase in losses in the year to March 2024: 'Probably ferries have been a bigger impact than the economic climate. There has been a lot of ferry disruption over the last few winters. It has obviously knocked consumer confidence a bit.'
He expressed hopes that the arrival of the Glen Sannox, which started sailing between Troon and Brodick in January, would mean disruption is 'reduced quite considerably'.
Mr Morrison, noting the new vessel's greater capacity and ability to operate in weather conditions in which the smaller Isle of Arran vessel could not, said of the Glen Sannox: 'It is good to see it in service. Certainly in the first couple of weeks it has been sailing in winds which would have prevented the Isle of Arran from sailing.'
His comments highlight just how crucial ferry services are for people and businesses alike on the islands and the importance of these being reliable.
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What has been striking about CalMac over the decades, covering the ferry operator and the communities it serves as a journalist and also travelling on its services, is its deep connection with the islands and its employees' knowledge of the people who are its customers, including businesses reliant on sending their goods out or receiving vital supplies from the mainland.
These personal relationships are often longstanding.
Of course, the age of CalMac's fleet has needed attention. However, there are hopeful signs on this front with Ms Hyslop last week highlighting investment in an additional 12 vessels for the network, even if waiting for the benefits of the orders being placed for new ships will require some patience.
And, yes, there is undoubtedly a case for looking at whether the current procurement structure for vessels for CalMac is the best one or not.
However, amid understandable frustrations over disruption to crossings in recent years, the last thing that needs to happen is for the baby to be thrown out with the bathwater through a tendering process which results in a private sector player taking over these vital ferry services.
The CalMac network includes many services which have to be subsidised.
Ms Hyslop highlighted a move, with the direct award of the new, 10-year contract which runs from October 1 this year for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services, to 'a model more focused on the delivery of a public service' to communities.
She said: 'I fully expect the direct award to be a catalyst for positive change across the Clyde and Hebrides network, based on a more efficient, flexible model of delivery that fully reflects community interests. Discussions will continue with staff, island residents, businesses and communities and trade unions on the arrangements to ensure the services can best meet local needs and wants.'
Clearly, all of this will be easier said than done but such engagement should surely help drive progress.
Ms Hyslop said: 'This direct award fundamentally changes the ethos of the service by shifting from a commercial arrangement to a model more focused on the delivery of a public service engaged on the particular needs of the communities it serves.'
That sounds like a very positive step.
And the last thing anyone needs right now is for a private company to be allowed to wade in to run the ferry services and - on top of the recent difficulties endured by communities served by CalMac arising from issues around an ageing fleet which are being addressed anyway - start trying to wring out a substantial profit.
If anyone is any doubt about that, they need only look at the shambles that has ensued since the privatisation of British Rail, and ask if they would really want that for communities which have generally been served well by CalMac for decades.