Tories float plan for privatisation of ferry services

THE Scottish Conservatives have suggested using more privatisation to improve the country’s ferry services.

The party said it wanted to scrap the state-owned firm that owns the ferries, ports, harbours and associated infrastructure, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), and use long-term contracts with ferry operators instead.

Tory leader Douglas Ross, who is standing for Holyrood in the Highlands & Islands, where most of the ferries sail, agreed that could mean more “privatisation”.

He said: “There are already private operators within the ferry industry in Scotland. We would look to get the best deal for people who rely on these as a lifeline service.”

CMAL owns 36 ferries, leasing

31 to state-owned Calmac for its Hebridean and Clyde routes and five to private Serco Northlink for the Orkney and Shetland routes.

CMAL is also commissioning a new generation of boats to replace the current ageing and unreliable fleet.

However its procurement record has been under fire since it ordered two boats from the Ferguson Marine yard on the Clyde which went £100m over budget and are four years late.

The ferry idea was in the Tories’ infrastructure plan, which also backed reopening rail services lost in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, several key road upgrades, and a Scotlandwide public transport smart travel card, akin to London’s Oyster Card.

Mr Ross said the economic boost would be “tens of thousands of jobs”.