On 31 July 2024, BBC Scotland using the figures fed to it by the Lib Dumb’s Alex Cole Hamilton, headlined:
CalMac ferries upkeep costs almost triple in five years
and suggested:
A freedom of information request from the Scottish Liberal Democrats found the annual cost of fixing CalMac-run ferries in 2018-19 was about £15.5m.
Between 2022-23 the cost rose to £26.6m and by 2023-24 further increased to £41.2m.
CalMac has faced criticism in recent years over the reliability of its vessels but six new ferries are due to come into service in the coming years.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the “old and battered” vessels in the existing fleet require more time and money to repair.
Repairs and maintenance have cost £147.8m in total since 2018-19.
“The SNP’s ferries fiasco has left islanders without the lifeline services they need,” he said.
“They have been in power for 17 years. There is no-one to blame but themselves.
He added that the SNP had “let people down for too long”.
Isn’t it revealing that a state-owned ferry service increasing its maintenance budget to keep its fleet reliable is presented as a bad thing? They moan about supposed unreliability but never have any figures to back that claim up then moan about the very thing, increased investment, required to do what they were moaning about in the first place.
Do they want this kind of thing where privatised ferry companies in affluent Washington State, British Columbia and New Zealand, refuse to increase maintenance so as to maintain, instead, shareholder pay-outs?
More than a dozen Washington State lawmakers are pushing Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency for Washington State Ferries (WSF). The end goal of the move is to make it possible for the state to get two new ferries within two years. WSF is working with fewer boats than it needs to fully run all of its routes, an aging fleet that requires a substantial amount of maintenance and repairs, a shortage of workers, and other mishaps.
There are so many problems with our ferry system. Constant delays, breakdowns, and staffing issues, our ferry fleet has become known around the region as one of the easiest ways to ruin your commute. While Washington currently has the largest ferry network in the nation, only nine ships of our 21 are considered in good condition [CalMac, generally only 2 or 3 out of 34 in dock].
This has resulted in some routes sporting a reliability rate as low as 75 percent [CalMac 95%]. This untenable situation is a direct result of poor planning and administration of what constitutes necessary infrastructure for our region.
It should come as no surprise that the older ferries, some of which are pushing 60 years of age [CalMac – one nearly 50 one just over 40, all the rest under 40 and average age 24], are in poor condition. Yet, the strategic plan of the state legislature, since the turn of the millennium, has added only seven new ferries, far short of what is needed to renew the fleet.
https://www.courierherald.com/opinion/lawmakers-must-fix-the-failing-ferry-system-reagan-dunn/
We read in Global News (Canada) that BC Ferries are running at only 85% reliability, [CalMac 95%] as they head in to the year, with 20 of 41 vessels due for major maintenance and stricken by a staffing and breakdown crisis.
https://globalnews.ca/news/10263918/bc-ferries-repair-update/
Stricken Cook Strait ferry the Kaitaki [700 on board] drifted more than a nautical mile towards the rugged Wellington [New Zealand] south coast in winds gusting over 100kph, it’s been revealed. The harbour ships that raced to her aid also likely lacked the grunt to pull her and 800 passengers to safety.[CalMac do not sail in those conditions then are criticised for cancellations]
Interislander expects its Cook Strait ferry Kaiarahi will be out of action for a week after having a large hole ripped in its hull. The ferry was damaged as it came into the berth in Wellington at 10pm on Sunday. All sailings of the Kaiarahi for Monday had been cancelled, and that could continue for up to a week.
Cook Strait travel is under pressure, with just one of three Interislander ferries operating following the grounding of the Aratere. The Aratere will sail again only when Maritime New Zealand gives clearance.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/502269/cook-strait-ferry-has-dramatic-hole-in-hull
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I was discussing ferries with a colleague, and he believes that when Margaret Thatcher was in power, more ferries were built than under devolution.
Could someone like Stewart B fact check this so I can hopefully prove them wrong?
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The ‘facts’ regarding the CalMac (and equivalent company) fleet – future, present and past – is well documented and, with a bit of work, fairly readily analysed.
See the following sources: (i) a website called ‘shipsofcalmac’ and (ii) a wikipedia page that includes tabulated records of the fleet since 1973. The wikipedia information is especially straitforward to analyse.
See ‘Caledonian MacBrayne fleet’ at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_MacBrayne_fleet#Future_fleet
Of course a raw count by year or for another period of time on its own may be misleading. There is the obvious point about size (class) of vessel involved – and therefore scale of financial investment in upgrading the fleet. There is also a distinction between multipurpose ferries – the majority of the fleet – and freight-only vessels.
Other potential (I don’t know enough to be sure) issues to consider are: (a) acquiring new vessels at certain times to instigate a wholly new service; (b) acquiring new vessels to increase the number of vessels on an existing route; (iii) acquiring a number of new vessels within a relatively short period of time in response to the retiral of a clutch of vessels that just happens to fall within the time span of interest.
There may be other factors that make a raw count of vessels problematic as a measure in the context you describe.
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Thanks Stewartb,
As you say, there is a lot to work out on this.
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Cole Hamilton an english propagandist working for england to lie to the Scottish people
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