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A state-owned Scottish ferry operator has paid out over £460,000 in passenger compensation for delays and cancellations since last April. The Scottish Government has been accused of leaving taxpayers to shoulder the cost of the CalMac network's "deterioration" - with a slew of delays also impacting the delivery of new vessels. CalMac paid £432,735 in compensation to travellers in 2024/25, alongside a further £33,792 in May and June - with last year's bill marking a 37% rise on 2023/24.

While the figure remained lower than 2022/23, when payments totalled £454,000, the publicly-funded operator has experienced well-publicised reliability issues linked to its ageing fleet of vessels. The Glen Sannox ferry was delivered earlier in 2025, years late and over budget, while its sister ship, the Glen Rosa, is not expected to be delivered until early 2026 after a series of delays.

One of the fleet's most iconic ferries, the MV Caledonian Isles, has also been out of action since last January, and could remain on the sidelines for another four months amid ongoing repairs.

Jamie Greene, transport spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, whose party has launched a consultation into the future of Scotland's ferry services, said the Government had "let the ferry network deteriorate" and suggested that staff and passengers were being "let down" by the SNP.

"The government took control of the company and broke their promise to deliver new ferries on time and on budget, which would have reduced the massive bills we are now seeing for compensation and repairs," he told the BBC.

"All of this has created a grim new norm for my constituents along the west coast, from losing business to missing hospital appointments."

Data from a Freedom of Information request lodged by the party showed that over 7,000 compensation claims had been made by passengers on the operator between April 2023 and April 2025.

CalMac has also reportedly paid a total of £1.9 million in compensation costs since the 2017/18 financial year.

A spokesperson for CalMac said it was planning to welcome 13 more vessels to its fleet by 2029, and stressed that staff worked to find alternative routes for passengers in the event of cancellations.

They added: "We're operating more sailings than ever before, with many of our vessels stretched to their limits.

"It is no secret that our fleet is ageing and that this can lead to higher levels of technical problems.

"This is why we are looking forward to welcoming 13 new vessels to the CalMac fleet by 2029, which will lead to less technical problems and cancellations, giving passengers a more reliable service."

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: "Between January 2015 and June 2025 CalMac have operated over 1.6 million sailings, with just 5.5% of scheduled sailings cancelled. Of those cancelled sailings, 25% were for technical reasons whilst more than double was due to the weather at 60%.

"In the coming year, the Scottish government intend to invest over £530m maintaining and enhancing our networks and strengthening resilience of services on the west coast and northern isles. This represents a near 23% increase on 24-25 funding levels."