Labour Pledges to Merge Ferry Organizations and Repair Broken System
Scottish Labour has unveiled plans to combine the nation’s ferry bodies. The party says the merger will reduce bureaucracy and improve services to island communities.
What Labour is proposing
Leader Anas Sarwar will visit the Stornoway ferry terminal on the Isle of Lewis on Monday. The visit precedes the Scottish Parliament election on May 7.
Labour Pledges to Merge Ferry Organizations. The party proposes uniting operator CalMac and procurement body CMAL into a single agency.
The new body would include local board representation. It would also introduce a revamped procurement system and a rolling replacement programme for ageing vessels.
Fleet failures and reported disruption
Recent weeks have seen significant disruption to the west coast network. CalMac reported eight major vessels were removed from service due to weather and technical faults in one week.
Figures obtained by Labour under freedom of information laws show cancellations rose sharply between 2015 and 2025. The party says technical cancellations climbed more than nine-fold in that period.
| Metric | 2015 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total annual cancellations | 6,822 | 13,647 |
| Technical cancellations | 709 | 7,371 |
Shipbuilding controversies
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited has faced heavy criticism over two ferries. Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa were built at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow.
Both vessels experienced long delays and cost overruns. At least one of the two has not yet entered service.
Political reactions
Anas Sarwar said the current situation has harmed islanders and local businesses. He urged voters to back Labour on May 7 to Repair Broken System.
The SNP acknowledged challenges with the ferry network. A party spokesman argued Sarwar’s plans do not directly build more vessels.
The SNP highlighted more than £2 billion invested in ferry services while it has governed. The party also noted increased sailings and route coverage.
Operator response and fleet renewal
CalMac warned technical outages are a known risk with older ships. The operator said demand has risen as it provides more services.
CalMac plans to phase in regular maintenance across its fleet. It said six major and seven smaller vessels will join between 2025 and 2029.
The operator expects newer tonnage to boost reliability and cut technical cancellations.
Reporting and analysis by Filmogaz.com.
