CalMac ferry payouts rise sharply amid service disruption

Disruption payouts to passengers by Scotland's publicly-owned ferry operator sharply rose last year.

Compensation payments averaged more than £50,000 per month during the spring and early summer of 2022.

Ferry operator CalMac said it had simplified the process of making claims which may partly explain the increase.

It paid out £215,000 in disruption claims between April and July 2022 compared to £261,000 for the whole of the previous year.

Most of the money paid out over the last five years was to refund meals and accommodation costs to passengers who faced disruption.

The operator paid £636,000 to cover the cost of meals and accommodation over that period of time, according to figures obtained by Scottish Labour under freedom of information legislation.

A third of CalMac's ferries are more than 30 years old, and almost half the largest ships are beyond their expected service life, meaning maintenance issues are arising more often.

However, a spokesman for Transport Scotland said "the vast majority" of cancelled sailings were due to adverse weather conditions.

Last month, a Holyrood consultation said provision of ferries for Scotland's island communities was "well below" reasonable levels.

Islanders have criticised the service cancellations which have resulted in issues with delivering supplies.

Two new ferries are being built in Port Glasgow but these have suffered serious delays and controversy over the last few years. The first ship Glen Sannox is due for delivery in the spring, which will be five years late.

Contracts for four other large ferries have been awarded to a shipyard in Turkey but the first of these is not expected to be delivered until late 2024.

Scottish Labour islands spokeswoman Rhoda Grant said: "These spiralling costs expose what a mess the SNP have made of lifeline ferry services in Scotland.

"Our ferry fleet has been left to rust because of years of failed planning, as well as the ferry fiasco where the Scottish government have failed to deliver two new ferries.

"Now islanders are stuck with chaos, cancellations and delays while taxpayers foot the bill."

A spokesperson for CalMac said: "We would always encourage passengers who are entitled to compensation to make a claim to us.

"During 2022 we improved the process for making claims, which included the promotion of a simplified application process.

"We also added links concerning passenger rights to the disruption texts that were sent to customers during all disruptions.

"This assisted customers who were entitled to compensation to make claims."

A spokesman for Transport Scotland said ship masters decide whether or not sailing is safe and their expertise should be respected.

He added: "The Scottish government has invested more than £2bn in our ferry services since 2007 and we continue to work towards introducing more capacity and greater resilience on the Clyde and Hebrides network."