Professor John Robertson OBA

The oldest CalMac ferry is the MV Isle of Cumbrae at 49 years in 2025, serving the short Largs to Cumbrae route.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_MacBrayne_fleet

In Toronto, Canada, one of the most affluent cities on the globe, from the Toronto Star today::

Toronto’s five ferries are between 62 and 115 years old — decades past their expected lifespans. The boats transport about 1.4 million people a year on 17,000 trips to the Toronto Islands. In recent years there have been several ferry collisions, mechanical failures and emergency stops. 

A recent investigation found:

An external review has found Toronto’s ferry services are being run below industry safety and organizational standards. Ferry operations “fall short of achieving full consistency with broader ferry industry standards or attaining best-in-class practices,” concluded a report from Greenline Marine, a British Columbia electric ferry company hired as a consultant by Toronto. The report also comes in the wake of a series of safety incidents involving the aging fleet, including a 2022 crash that hospitalized six people.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/toronto-shifts-ferry-management-after-consultant-finds-services-fall-short-of-industry-standards/article_b94d397c-ff57-11ef-b794-f721c1af602e.html

The state and national governments have not been criticised as it’s a matter for the ferry company.

Imagine this was in Scotland.