Swinney ’embarrassed’ by ongoing disruption to ferry network

John Swinney has admitted he is “embarrassed” by issues facing Scotland’s west coast ferry network.

Disruption caused in the last few weeks – stemming from a mix of technical issues facing the ageing CalMac fleet and planned maintenance – has resulted in multiple changes to timetables and has left one Western Isles port without a mainland ferry for the next month.

It comes against a backdrop of the ongoing wait for the Glen Rosa ferry being built at the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow, which is due to be delivered by the end of this year but is unlikely to carry passengers until 2027.

The Glen Rosa and its sister ship the Glen Sannox – which entered service last year but has been marred with technical issues – were due to be built for £97 million at the Inverclyde yard, but a host of issues discovered after Ferguson was saved from administration by the Scottish Government in 2019 drove the price up to around four times the initial figure.

Taking calls on the BBC Radio Scotland Mornings phone-in on Friday, the First Minister was challenged on the situation facing Scotland’s ferry fleet.

He said: “The Glen Sannox is in service, it’s late – I accept that – so is the Glen Rosa.

“We expect the Glen Rosa to be completed later this year.

“We’ve introduced nine new ferries into the fleet since we came into office and there is 11 that are on order.

“I expect three of them to be delivered in the course of this calendar year.”

Asked if he is embarrassed by the whole situation, Mr Swinney said: “Of course I am.

“What I’ve done about it is I’ve gone and faced the communities about it.

“I went to the Western Isles by ferry the week before last to listen to people.

“I heard from people about the disruption that’s been experienced and I set out financial support that the SNP Government, if we’re re-elected, will put in place, because I recognise the disruption we’ve had in the last few weeks has been at a time when people would have had reasonable expectations of a lot more people being around.”

The major disruption, which at one point has seen six major vessels out of service, coincided with the Easter school holidays.

The First Minister said he is ultimately responsible for the issues facing the network as the head of the Scottish Government.