Maritime Williams is presenting himself as the leading journo on ferries as he presents a diesel-stained slick of negative CalMac reports. Today, it’s the above with a link to his ferries newsletter.
Curiously, when you click on it, you get stories on any kind of transport other than ferries:
Returning to the state aid dilemma, it’s a long and thorough piece but, in the end, really about the supposed poor performance of CalMac and promoting the frankly daft idea that some privatised alternative would be better for the ‘islanders’.
Here’s why it’s daft.
Because Williams does not look at privatised or less-subsidised ferry services internationally, neither he nor the supposed islanders know really how good or bad CalMac are.
I do so that makes me the leading writer on the issue. See this updated analysis:
Compared with other comparable ferry services, how well does CalMac do on these key criteria:
- Passenger and staff safety
- Service in terms of number of vessels, ports and, of course, smaller vulnerable communities
- Cost in terms of affordability and generosity of government subsidy
- Reliability in terms of the percentage of sailings on time
- Investment in terms of age of vessels
CalMac’s performance on these criteria is fully transparent, like that of Scotland’s health, crime and education statistics. Regrettably, few other ferry services are under such scrutiny so the following comparisons will be at times difficult. Of course, a ferry service fully open to scrutiny is by definition better than one where facts are hidden.
Comparable?
CalMac operates 34 vessels to over 50 ports and harbours including 22 islands.
There are , just on that, comparable services in Indonesia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Norway, Washington State, British Columbia, Malta and Taiwan. There may be others. If you can offer comparable evidence for these, please post that below.
I’m going to quickly take out Indonesia and Bangladesh on the first criterion, safety, as they regularly see the sinking of overcrowded vessels with multiple loss of life.
I’ll take Greece out too in the wake of the recent incident where a later-arriving passenger was pushed to his death by the crew. Regular reports of overcrowded and unsanitary vessels would also disqualify Greece.
I have to take Norway and New Zealand out as the unavailability of subsidy figures makes it impossible to compare cost in terms of affordability. That both are fully independent and Norway is massively rich would also make comparisons with Scotland problematic.
Australia can be quickly eliminated on cost as the government subsidy of only £3.86 per journey is dwarfed by that of Scotland at £29.80 per journey.
Taiwan can be removed on safety ground as some of their aging crews with captains working into their 80s!
Malta can be taken out on the basis infrequent services to major populations on Gozo with only 2 sailings daily on a crossing comparable to the Dunoon-Gourock service which has 58!
Washington State Ferries and British Columbia Ferries offer useful comparison with Scotland, WSF operates 21 vessels to 20 locations and BC ferries operates 41 vessels to 47 locations. Both services are managed by agencies responsible to and funded by devolved governments, as is the case in Scotland.
Bother, however, have the advantage of operating in the more affluent areas around Seattle and Vancouver and in warmer, less stormy seas on the Pacific west coast.
So, back to the criteria.
All three, WSF, BC Ferries and CalMac, are safe.
The Scottish Government subsidy to make prices affordable to all, at £29.80 per journey is nearly twice that of BC at £16,36.
For WSF, subsidy data per journey is not available but a 15 minute crossing from Vashon Island to Seattle costs $27 or £22 while a comparable crossing from Largs to Cumbrae is £13.90.
Reliability comparisons are difficult as only CalMac has to do daily figures. CalMac is currently averaging 95.4% on time.
WSF’s reliability is, according to reports, ‘the worst ever’ and BC Ferries is having an ‘unmitigated disaster.’
Washington State Ferries currently have 6 out of 21 ferries in docks and BC Ferries has 4 in dock. CalMac has, I think, only 2 in dock.
Finally on investment in new ferries, the average age of a CalMac ferry is 23, for BC Ferries it’s 36. For WSF, the average age is not published but 11 of the 21 are over 40 years old. Only 1 of CalMac’s 34 vessels is that age.
The governments of Washington State and British Columbia are never blamed in the media for anything to do with ferries.
Sources:
Ernst and Young https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/strategic-framework-of-options-for-the-chfs-network-project-neptune/benchmarking/
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2023/10/12/2003807585
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/gozo-sunk-sea-passivity.1060170
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Ferries
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Thanks for this, John. A well researched article. Sharing it on FB send X
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If there was ever any doubt about the political agenda behind this campaign,Kid Starver’s comments at the Labour Party conference confirmed it.
His claims that the Scottish government cannot run a ferry service let alone a country tells us all we need to know.
As far as privatisation is concerned,those proposing it should look at what is happening with privately run bus services in parts of the Lothians.
Services which are unprofitable cut back or axed completely,leaving some people with no means of transportation.
The private sector will not invest unless there is a profit to be made and I suspect few,if any,of our Island services would provide that without heavy government subsidies.
This limits,to say the least,any potential competitive tendering process.
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Sub-lieutenant Williams of HMS Herald is in danger of scuttling his career if you compare his navel ( get it ! ) gazing reports on Scotland’s ferries with the excellent and detailed comparison piece by the Commodore Robertson .
Sunk without trace would be a blessing for the bilge that HMS Herald scribblers produce as ”fact-based” stories . Keel-hauling would be an appropriate punishment for the editor who passes the junk they produce as news !
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“Keel-hauling would be an appropriate punishment for the editor.”
. . . Tom Gordon for ‘the cat’?
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Commodore!
Admiral! Well a rear one then. Are they the ones that stay on land, in the rear?
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The constant rehash of Scottish Ferry stories via the MSM is becoming tantamount to an obsession in their carefully chosen ‘news where you are’ stories against the actual ‘news where we are’ being largely ignored by that same MSM if it is in any way positive news that is generated via the Scottish government…..but also what is obvious is that they, the MSM, promote it as a story that is of greater significance as an issue with voters in Scotland compared to all of the REAL woes that we are enduring in Scotland thanks to the Tory UK government …..and really the regurgitating Ferry stories tis only significant, as a story, because they, the MSM, are constantly choosing to make it significant amidst other MORE significant stories that impacts MORE of us and which they, the MSM, are choosing to either ignore or diminish their prominence as important news stories.
What about the Tory cost of living crisis ?
What about New New Labour supporting Brexit which Scotland, as a policy, voted against in 2016 ?
What about the Tories backtracking on commitments they made in COP26 ?
What about New New Labour committing to uphold some existing Tory policies ?
What about New New Labour receiving donations from Private Health companies to fund their individual and party campaigns while supposedly presenting themselves as THE only party who will save the NHS ?
I could go on and on and on….and also note ‘stories’ now relegated to non stories such as the Waspi women, PPE scandal of fast track VIP awarded contracts (with a certain Tory Baroness involved in a specific contract but who is currently in foreign shores and thus allowed to live ‘under the radar’ of MSM stories here in Scotland), the Tories stripping back the powers of the Scottish government and thus undermining devolution with their intention to fund councils directly and thus bypass Holyrood and then we have New New Labour promoting that you must support and commit to only British patriotism while their leader Starmer releases a St George’s day video to celebrate what it is to be DISTINCTLY English (which included as part of that video a place in….Scotland)…….what I have quoted above is by no means an exhaustive list of ‘stories’ that the media here tactically decide to NOT place greater emphasis upon but which for us in Scotland are HUGE factors in who we choose to vote for in the next GE and too in the subsequent Holyrood elections…..if we make the wrong choice and expect different results from what we have experienced in previous outcomes (when we previously voted Labour here) then I fear some voters in Scotland will be greatly disappointed while we and others will see it as par for the course as far the British nationalist New New Labour party’s supposed pledges and promises all then amounting to nada for us here in Scotland.
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There is little doubt that Martin Williams is on a mission, quite what that mission is only time may tell.
If its to piss off the declining Herald readership than he has my fulsome praise and support.
If its because he is doing it as part of an under Graduate course then it looks like a B2 at best.
Sadly, I think its non of the above and he is just a lousy journalist.
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