Dear Mr Swinney, please fix the ferries (for Scotland's sake, and your own)

The Scotland’s dilapidated ferry services are turning islanders into second-class citizens and provide a reminder of how bad the SNP have been at delivering decent public services

Guess how many ferry sailings were cancelled because of a technical problem over the last couple of years or so. What do you reckon: 100, 1,000... 5,000!? Not even close.

A freedom of information request has revealed that a fault of some kind resulted in the cancellation of a grand total of 10,809 sailings between January 2023 and April this year. The situation is so bad that maintenance issues and the like caused almost as many problems as the weather for which the Atlantic Ocean is notorious.

This is the extraordinary state into which Scotland’s state-owned CalMac fleet has been allowed to deteriorate on the SNP’s watch.

READ MORE: Hugely-delayed Glen Rosa ferry suffers flooding in latest Ferguson Marine setback

The MV Glen Rosa at its launch in April last year. It will not be ready until sometime next year (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images

‘Millions in repair bills’

Jamie Greene MSP, transport spokesperson for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, which obtained the figures, said: “The SNP’s failure to deliver new lifeline ferries has anchored islanders with an ageing fleet that is in constant need of repair, at constant risk of cancellation and costing millions in repair bills.” He stressed that each sailing which did not go ahead meant islanders losing business, missing hospital appointments, and other real-world problems.

Since becoming First Minister, John Swinney has rightly stressed the need for his government to focus on the effective delivery of public services, a tacit admission this hasn’t always been the case.

Lengthy NHS waiting lists and violence in schools may occupy his mind more than most issues – and they should do – but the parlous state of our ferry services deserves Swinney’s personal attention too.

No fringe issue

As Greene pointed out, islanders are effectively being treated as “second-class citizens”. No one on the mainland would accept routine disruptions to road travel that effectively trapped people in their local area. This is far from a fringe issue.

However, apart from being the right thing to do, there is another reason why Swinney should act: the ferry crisis is becoming increasingly emblematic of SNP incompetence. One of the biggest symbols, the long-delayed and over-budget Glen Rosa ferry, is currently expected to be ready just before or just after the Holyrood election – 11 years after it was commissioned.

And, either way, it is likely to loom large in voters’ minds.