The “astonishing” increase in the number of CalMac services cancelled due to technical faults can be revealed today by the Scottish Conservatives.
Responses to Freedom of Information requests made by the party show that services cancelled due to technical faults soared by nearly TWO THOUSAND per cent between 2010 and 2023.
While just 217 services were cancelled because of technical issues in 2010, this had sky-rocketed to 4,485 in 2023 – an increase of 1,966 per cent. The number of cancellations made up to October 2024 means last year is on track to match 2023’s record number of non-sailings.
Shadow transport secretary Sue Webber says that the SNP have abandoned islanders and left them reliant on ageing vessels that are “not fit for purpose”.
She says that the thousands of cancellations will have had a “deeply damaging” impact on the economy of Scotland’s islands and put many people off visiting these communities.
Sue Webber added that SNP ministers have been “asleep at the wheel” in failing to outline any plan to deliver ferries that are fit for the modern age, and that nobody has taken responsibility for their failures.
Scottish Conservative shadow transport secretary Sue Webber MSP said: “This represents an astonishing rise in the number of ferry services cancelled on the SNP’s watch.
“Islanders have shamefully had to get used to a pot-luck situation when it comes to ferries running or not. This shocking situation is only getting worse year after year for the communities who have been abandoned by the SNP.
“The nationalists have left them reliant on ageing vessels that are simply not fit for purpose and much more likely to break down.
“The thousands of cancellations in the last couple of years alone will have had a deeply damaging impact on the economy of the islands, by putting people off visiting them.
“Successive SNP transport secretaries have been asleep at the wheel. They have completely failed to outline any plans to deliver new lifeline services that are fit for the modern age.
“These jaw-dropping figures must be an urgent wake-up call for SNP ministers to finally ensure that islanders have ferries they know won’t routinely be cancelled.”
Notes:
CalMac cancellations due to technical faults increased by almost 2,000% between 2010 and 2023. In 2010 there were only 217 cancellations due to technical faults. This compares to 4,485 cancellations due to technical faults in 2023, which is an increase of 1,966% since 2010. (FOI attached)
CalMac cancelled a record 4,485 sailings due to technical faults in 2023. In 2023, CalMac cancelled a record 4,485 sailings due to technical faults. This is more than every calendar year since 2010. This is an increase of 186% on 2021, when there were 1,563 cancellations due to technical faults. (FOI attached).
CalMac cancelled 3,724 sailings due to technical faults in only the first ten months of 2024, which is on track to match the record cancellations of 2023. Between January and October 2024, CalMac cancelled a record 3,724 sailing due to technical faults. This pro rata matches 2023, which had the highest number of cancellations due to technical faults in any calendar year since 2010 (FOI attached)