CalMac directly awarded new ferry service contract
The contract to run Scotland's west coast ferry services in future has been directly awarded to the existing publicly-owned operator CalMac Ferries Ltd.
The Scottish government said the service would now be focused on a "public service model" instead of being run on a commercial basis.
The contract for the Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Service (CHFS) had been due to expire last September but was extended by a year.
Ministers had indicated that a direct award was their preference, but they needed more time to ensure this could be done without a legal challenge.
CalMac is the UK's biggest ferry operator and has held the most recent contract to run Scotland's west coast routes since 2016, serving 50 destinations.
But the firm has struggled in recent years to maintain services with an ageing and increasingly unreliable fleet.
Since 2007 the ships and some of the harbours it relies on have been owned by a separate government-owned company, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd or CMAL in a move designed to comply with EU competition rules.
Delays in replacing the older vessels, in part due to the problems with two new dual-fuel ferries ordered a decade ago, have stretched the service almost to breaking point, with many vessels beyond their expected service life.
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