Politicians have welcomed the announcement that Scottish Government-
The Scottish Government will provide £900 million of support to the lifeline services and continue the application of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) across the network.
SNP MSP Alasdair Allan said he is "absolutely delighted."
He added: "The clear preference of island communities was for Cal Mac to retain the contract and that is something I and many others conveyed to the government.
Politicians welcome Cal Mac's tender win
20 May 2016
“While none of us would have volunteered for this process to happen, it was vital that the Scottish Government complied with the law in order to safeguard the recover levels of investment that have been put into our ferry services.
Isles MP Angus MacNeil said "Cal Mac must continue to serve the islands as best they can and improve services where possible."
He added: "Many of CalMac’s crews had told me of their nervousness about this process and what it could have meant for their jobs or terms and conditions so firstly for them this will be a big relief."
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP criticised the Scottish Government for spending millions of pounds on tendering. He believes legal advice indicated the process was not needed.
“The last time the tendering progress went through it cost about £4 million and I believe the costs would be similar this time around."
His Labour colleague, Rhoda Grant, said the money spent on tendering could have been put to "better use improving service and reliability, instead it had been squandered on this exercise because the SNP refused to take advice from other parties.
"They also sought to blame the EU for the process when they could have applied for
an exemption -
Western Isles councillor Donald Crichton maintained if Serco had won it would have "ushered in years of cutbacks, disruption to services through industrial action with employees fighting for their rights and jobs.
"The Scottish Government brought us to the brink of losing our life line services to a company with a reputation for ruthless asset stripping.
"They should hang their heads in shame that they allowed so much uncertainty to take place."