13 January 2025

Scotland’s ferries are case studies in state failure

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‘Today, on time and on budget, the environmentally friendly pride of Scottish engineering, MV Glen Sannox, makes the first of its four ferry crossings from Ardrossan to Arran, the busiest route on the islands network.’

That’s how it was meant to be. But there’s no pride, only relief, that this island lifeline has finally arrived, six years late (and four times over budget). It won’t manage four sailings from Ardrossan, only three from further-away Troon. And it will be more polluting than the aged rust-bucket it replaces. 

Still, the relief is palpable. The ferries serving the Hebridean and Clyde islands (among them Lewis, Skye, Islay, Arran and Bute) are a lifeline to the 45,000 inhabitants, delivering their supplies, taking their products (such as whisky and woollens) to market, providing essential travel (including hospital appointments) and bringing in the tourists upon whom they depend.

But Scotland’s ferries, operated by a government-run monopoly, Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) and owned by another, Caledonian Marine Assets Limited (CMAL), have been at breaking point for years. Typical of public sector monopolies, government money has gone into appeasing union demands rather than capital upkeep. CalMac is the most labour-intensive ferry operator in Europe, while half the fleet is now beyond its 25-year efficient life. A third of vessels are over 30 years old. The three biggest are over 35.

Unsurprisingly, maintenance bills are running into tens of millions as vessels become unseaworthy. During repairs, new faults are discovered — as happened to the main Arran Ferry, the 42-year-old, 1,000-passenger ‘MV Caledonian Isles’, putting it out of service for a year, including during the busy Easter and summer seasons so essential to the island economy. But all the islands suffer: with no spare capacity, vessels are hastily reassigned to fill the gap, timetables are cut and sailings are cancelled without warning.

Again, typically, it was only when the network was near collapse that Scotland’s government in 2013 suddenly found £1 billion for vessel replacements. Which, ironically, is when things got even worse.

While the Scottish National Party (SNP) had most seats in the Scottish Parliament, it depended on support from the Scottish Greens, who insisted that the two largest vessels should be eco-friendly – running on Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) instead of marine diesel. But LNG is volatile. It has to be stored at -160°C and cannot be safely used in port. So the vessels had to be ‘dual fuel’ – a technology not then in use by any ferry company in the world.

And naturally, the SNP wanted the new vessels built by a Scottish shipyard. After years of decline, there was only one possibility left on the Clyde: Ferguson Shipbuilders, and that was already facing collapse. So the Scottish government rescued it and (in a very opaque process) awarded it a £97 million contract. Foreign yards (in Turkey, Greece, Vietnam or Korea) would have offered greater capacity and lower costs, and a standard design would have been much cheaper – particularly since the final cost of the vessels is now tipping £450m. But this is politics, on other people’s money.

Worse, nobody involved – Ferguson, CMAL and the Transport Scotland quango – had the expertise to run such a project. As with all prototypes, numerous design re-thinks were necessary, but Ferguson complained that CMAL was slow to approve blueprints. There were more delays as the new technology had to be approved by Lloyd’s of London and the Coastguard. CalMac, the party that knew the customers best, was far removed from CMAL’s plans, and even further from Transport Scotland’s.

With disputes about the costs of design changes (and CMAL’s alleged tardiness in paying them), the shipyard went bust. To save face, ministers nationalised it, making the Scottish government’s control of the ferries – operating, owning, managing and building – complete. But by then, the hulls were corroding, and vital fittings had become useless. The Scottish Audit Commission concluded that it would be cheaper to scrap the vessels and start again. 

With delays mounting, the gaps in the network were creating visible economic and human damage, with tourists having to cancel their holiday plans and islanders unable to reach hospital and other essential appointments. By 2023, CMAL uncharacteristically admitted defeat and chartered a private ferry vessel, ‘MV Alfred’, at a cost of £1m per month. Of course, the transport union’s objections to its design and staffing levels delayed its deployment, as it did again in 2024, causing the Alfred to miss the busy Easter season. But at least it provided some relief to islanders and visitors.

Now six years late, ‘Glen Sannox’ will start operating on the Arran route today. But not the planned four sailings on the shortest route, from Ardrossan, only three, from the more-distant Troon. That is because Ardrossan Harbour needs a re-fit to take the vessel. But despite having an additional six years to plan things, the various parties involved – the port owner, CMAL, the local authority and Transport Scotland – could not reach agreement on plans and costs.

To top it all, the ‘Glen Sannox’ is less ‘green’ than its four decades old predecessor. Its LNG has to be shipped from Qatar, then trucked up from Kent. Since LNG cannot be used in port, it is viable for only around half of the Arran crossing. Some unburnt methane will enter the atmosphere, and flushing the propulsion system between LNG and diesel will release more. The dual fuel construction makes ‘Glen Sannox’ heavier, increasing its fuel consumption. The RMT’s insistence on 32 ensuite crew cabins, plus fitness suite, adds top weight that must be counterbalanced with water ballast below. Total ballast will be 600 tonnes (more than the payload), increasing fuel consumption further. Even then, bureaucratic delays mean there is nowhere to store LNG in Western Scotland, so it will be five years before ‘Glen Sannox’ could use it anyway. 

Private ferry operators carry billions of passengers annually, on modern eco-friendly vessels, in equally difficult conditions, with few disruptions and complaints. Isn’t it now time for the Scottish government to stand aside?

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Eamonn Butler is Director of the Adam Smith Institute.

Columns are the author's own opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of CapX.