Ferry fiasco exposes stinking, rotten heart of Scotland's quango system

The vast majority of Scots are personally untouched by what happens to Ardrossan or Arran, or indeed the rest of the CalMac network. Those responsible for our great ferry scandal doubtless count on ferry-weariness setting in.

They will be disappointed so long as Scotland can muster interest in the integrity of government or treatment of fragile communities. Ferries are a powerful metaphor for how Scotland is run, the pernicious quango network and systemic contempt for accountability.

So let’s return to Arran and the irony that the island’s only current hope for partially regaining normality rests with a 32-year-old vessel, the MV Caledonian Isles, due back at the end of March after a year in various repair yards at the cost of around £12 million. Fingers crossed.

But what, I hear you ask, about the fabled Glen Sannox? Has she not just taken to the water, albeit seven years late? Sadly, rather than drawing a line, the answers to these questions constitute another reason why the whole dirty affair demands the public inquiry John Swinney is determined not to grant.

The Glen Sannox ferry is operating from Troon, rather than Ardrossan, because the harbour there has not yet been upgraded (Picture: Andrew Milligan) | PA

‘Not interested’?

“I could sit here for the next four or five hours and tell you (what) I think went wrong, but probably you’re not interested,” quoth Nicola Sturgeon in her recent revisionist interview. I assure her many of us would be extremely interested in her testimony and those of other key players – under oath in a public inquiry.

The current status of Ardrossan as a port without a ferry, already suffering severe economic damage, is one reason this saga will not disappear. Incapable of using Ardrossan because she is too big, the Glen Sannox is operating from Troon, a less accessible option nobody wants – except Transport Scotland and Associated British Ports, which profits handsomely from the diversion.

In the decade since the fateful order was placed with the Ferguson yard by CMAL, the Scottish Government’s procurement quango, nothing has been done by the same CMAL or the same Scottish Government to ensure that Ardrossan, the established port for Arran, would be capable of accommodating the Glen Sannox. Simple question – why not?

I have good reason not to believe it was by inadvertence, rather than to present a fait accompli which Arran and Ardrossan are now fighting a rearguard action against. While the seven-year delay on the Glen Sannox and eight-year delay on the Glen Rosa might charitably be put down to monumental incompetence, the ten-year delay on upgrading Ardrossan harbour is inescapably sinister.

How convenient now for those who achieved this outcome if the whole affair died down with Arran left to make the best of it and Ardrossan to rot. Fortunately, neither place seems minded to accept its allotted fate and the campaign to “Save Ardrossan Harbour” has as much support on the island as on the Ayrshire mainland. I wish it well.

Expired warranties

This week, the Scottish Government’s appointee as chairman of the Ferguson yard, Andrew Miller – a regular on the circuit – and its interim chief executive, who lives in Canada, gave a performance before a Holyrood committee that bordered on the comedic, as they tried to evade questions about further delays and costs involving the Glen Rosa.

Part of the problem is that she has been extensively cannibalised to provide parts for the Glen Sannox. But what happens if/when either breaks down? For this, we must turn to recent evidence to MSPs from Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of CMAL. Because the vessel took so long to complete, all the warranties have expired. Mr Hobbs added helpfully: “It’s even worse for the Glen Rosa because its build will probably take ten years.”

So where will responsibility lie? “Normally,” said Mr Hobbs, “if a component part breaks and is under warranty, the shipyard will go to the manufacturer and ask for it to be replaced or repaired. In this instance, it would be up to Ferguson’s to effect that repair, because the warranties are now out of date.”

In other words, the Scottish Government-owned yard, with its own uncertain future, is already responsible for repairing two ferries commissioned by one Scottish Government quango and operated by another, because it has taken so long to build them. That sounds like the guarantee of trouble and expense for years to come.

A monumental mess

One way the Scottish Government has of denying accountability is to ensure that governance of ferry services is kept far, far away from communities directly affected. It is inconceivable that a locally accountable ferry company – as is the norm elsewhere in the world – could have made as monumental a mess as civil servants and quangos under the Edinburgh leash.

Two people who could shed much light on the scandal’s roots are Erik Østergaard, the SNP’s favourite prince of Denmark, who was chairman of CMAL throughout, and his deputy, Edinburgh solicitor Morag McNeill. Alas, their testimonies are unavailable since the former was shut up by being made chairman of CalMac with Ms McNeill ascending to the CMAL throne.

A fuller account of how the SNP’s quango racket operates must await another day, but consider just one piece of topical evidence. This week, an individual named Andrew Thin was appointed chairman of the Crofting Commission. Mr Thin has been so ubiquitous on the quango circuit that he describes his “occupation” as “Chair, Non Departmental Public Bodies”.

Given Østergaard’s CMAL history, his transition to CalMac was remarkable, to put it euphemistically. I asked at the time who was on the panel which effectively appointed him. Surprise, surprise – the “independent” member was none other than Andrew Thin, the career quangoteer awaiting his own next job.

In brief, dear reader, that is how Scotland’s quango system works. It stinks and, as the good people of Arran and Ardrossan will confirm, nobody is accountable for the consequences.