Fines for cancellations and delays have been written out of a new £3.9billion CalMac contract amid Scotland’s deepening ferries crisis.
Islanders have faced major disruption with up to ten vessels, including the new MV Glen Sannox, out of action in recent weeks.
It has now emerged that despite ongoing issues with reliability and performance, ministers have written out a penalty-based clause in the ferry firm’s contract leaving ‘nobody accountable’.
Although government owned, CalMac previously operated ferry services under a commercial contract.
But in October, Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland and CalMac signed a new 10-year deal that brought services under ‘full public control’ based on a public service model.
But the near £4billion contract came as it was reported CalMac had amassed £21million in fines in the nine years to last September under the previous contract.
Critics slammed the move as ‘rewarding failure’.
Scottish Tory transport spokesman Sue Webber said the decision to ‘rewrite’ CalMac’s contract was ‘a humiliating admission of how badly the SNP has managed the fleet and how regularly vessels are now breaking down’.
The building of the Glen Sannox and its sister ship MV Glen Rosa were meant to be a welcome addition to CalMac’s ageing fleet.
Fears ‘nobody is accountable’ after fines for failures written out of £3.9million CalMac contract
But after years of delays and spiralling costs, the Glen Rosa has yet to enter service, and since taking its first passengers last January the Glen Sannox has been plagued with issues.
The Mail revealed last month that the Glen Sannox had been out of service for more than 100 days, while CalMac confirmed it was facing an ‘unprecedented’ situation with multiple ships out of action at the same time.
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has called the move to full public control a ‘catalyst for positive change’.
However, Scottish Labour transport spokesman Daniel Johnson last night said: ‘It sends the wrong message for the SNP to scrap all penalties for poor performance.’
Under previous contracts, financial penalties were imposed by ministers when CalMac failed to meet targets on reliability, punctuality and service delivery.
But these are no longer in the new agreement. Instead, the contract relies on reporting, monitoring and escalation, with ministers able to intervene, demand improvements, or terminate the agreement in extreme cases.
John Daniel Peteranna, of the South Uist Business Impact Group, which organised a 2023 protest over breakdowns, said it means ‘nobody is accountable’.
CalMac’s latest report states that ‘reliability remains below target, driven by a combination of technical issues and ongoing challenges with ageing fleet and port infrastructure.’
Transport Scotland said the government and CalMac ‘continue to work closely to resolve the issues impacting ferry services’. Lib Dem candidate for Argyll and Bute Alan Reid said: ‘The relationship between CalMac and the government is unhealthy.
‘Rather than turning up the pressure on the ferry operator to improve, ministers are looking to spare both their blushes by minimising any possible sanction.’
