CalMac paid out over £823,000 in the past three years to passengers whose ferry journeys were disrupted or delayed
The compensation covered the cost of food and overnight accommodation bills for travellers.
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.
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 described the CalMac fleet as “decrepit” saying it “has decimated tourism, the
day-to-day lives of entire communities and saddled Scottish taxpayers with soaring
costs.”
The 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.”
A CalMac spokesperson said: "We're operating more sailings than ever before, with many of our vessels operating at their limits to provide services. When disruption does occur, we do our utmost to get customers on alternate sailings or routes to reach their destination wherever possible.
"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.
"Starting with MV Glen Sannox, which entered service in January this year, we'll welcome 13 new vessels to the CalMac fleet by 2029. These six major and seven small vessels will see approximately one third of our fleet renewed. This will lead to a reduction in technical issues and cancellations as ageing vessels are replaced."
A Transport Scotland spokesperson 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.
"Last month the contracts were signed for a further seven new smaller vessels. 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 (government ferry-owning agency) Caledonian
Maritime Assets Ltd to improve resilience across our networks."
CalMac forks out £823,000 passenger compensation over ferry disruption
22 April 2025
