FERRY compensation payouts have increased by nearly eight times in the past six years in Scotland, new figures show.
Government-owned CalMac paid out £454,165 in 2022-23, an increase from £57,822 in 2017-18, which means payouts have increased by almost eight times (685%).
The data was obtained by Scottish Labour under a freedom of information request.
The party’s islands spokesperson, Rhoda Grant (below), said: “Islanders are being failed by the SNP and taxpayers are footing the bill.”
Grant said “failed planning and disastrous delays” had left Scotland “with a ferry fleet too old to function”.
She continued: “We need urgent action to get services up and running again, and a national ferry building programme to support Scotland’s shipbuilding industry and deliver the ferries we need.”
Under the operator’s passenger rights commitment, CalMac can reimburse food costs, provide overnight accommodation, cover mileage if passengers have to travel to arrive at another port or provide compensation if there is a delay or cancellation relating to a technical fault.
The ferry network has come under criticism in recent years, with a number of technical issues causing disruption and the extensive delays and cost overruns seen in the building of two ships at the Government-owned Ferguson Marine shipyard.
A spokesman for Transport Scotland said: “Scottish ministers fully recognise that every cancelled sailing can have a significant impact on our island communities.
“The provision of safe and reliable lifeline ferry services is crucial to delivering the confidence needed to sustain island communities, businesses, and populations.
“Statistics between October 1, 2022, and May 16, 2023, show of the 98,267 scheduled sailings across the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services network 7286 (7.4%) were cancelled.
“Of the scheduled sailings, 1549 (1.6%) were cancelled due to technical issues and 3541 (3.6%) were cancelled due to weather.
“We will continue to do everything possible to ensure that new vessels enter service as quickly as possible, to deliver the service improvements upon which our islands depend.”
CalMac chief executive Robbie Drummond said the firm takes its responsibility to “provide a reliable lifeline ferry service very seriously and work hard to avoid disruption”.
He added: “We spent a record £34m on fleet maintenance in 2022, which was an increase of around 70% from £20m in 2017.
“This increased investment can be attributed, in part, to the age of the vessels, with more than 38% of them exceeding 30 years of age and increasing challenges around obsolescence and obtaining parts.
“The good news is that we will welcome 16 new vessels to the fleet over the next few years, which will greatly improve resilience.
“We meet our obligations to pay compensation under passenger rights legislation in full, as is only right.
“We always encourage passengers who have been left out of pocket by delays or cancellations to check our website to see if they are entitled to make a claim. These can be made electronically and processed quickly.”
