CalMac contract for west coast ferries extended by a year

The contract for CalMac to run ferries on Scotland's west coast has been extended by a year.

It comes as ministers are considering a direct award to the Scottish government-owned operator without a competitive tendering process.

A direct award is Transport Scotland's preferred option, rather than accepting bids from rival firms.

The contract had been due to expire on 30 September, but it said an extra year would allow further "due diligence" work to take place.

The move comes after a long period of problems on the CalMac network.

The firm has struggled to maintain services with an ageing and increasingly unreliable fleet which it leases from another government-owned agency CMAL.

There have been delays to repairs to the main Arran ferry, cancellation of services to South Uist and islanders on Mull have also faced frequent disruption.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said it had not been possible to complete the required due diligence work for a direct contract award by 30 September.

She said: "We have made arrangements to extend the existing contract for 12 months.

"This will allow the process to robustly conclude and, subject to the outcome of that process, a final decision to be made on a direct contract award.

"I will provide a further update to parliament later this year on progress and on timings for decision-making within the extended period."

But the Scottish Conservatives accused the government of "kicking the can down the road".

Transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: “Islanders will be shocked that they must wait up to another year to get any clarity on who will run their substandard ferry services. It is not good enough.

“The SNP government has also confirmed today that it still has not decided whether to invest more money into the Ferguson yard and is also delaying a decision on what to do about the new small ferries award."

Duncan Mackison, the interim chief executive of CalMac, welcomed the contract extension.

He said: "With six new major vessels due to join the fleet by 2026 and significant infrastructure upgrades, we are confident that lifeline ferry services will continue to improve.

"During the extension period, we will be working hard to provide certainty and reliability, and listening closely to the views of local people who rely on our services."