Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has called for the Scottish Parliament to be urgently recalled to address what he described as a “crisis” on the country’s west coast ferry network. Speaking in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Cole-Hamilton blamed the SNP for the situation, which has left eight CalMac ferries out of action due to planned maintenance and technical issues.
The Scottish Parliament entered recess last week ahead of the May election but can be recalled until April 8. Cole-Hamilton urged MSPs to return to Holyrood to “sort out this mess” and immediately secure compensation for affected islanders and businesses. He also pledged to introduce a new ferries Bill in the next parliament, which would establish a rolling 30-year procurement programme centred on community needs.
The crisis worsened over the weekend when MV Lord of the Isles, serving Coll, Tiree and Colonsay, reported an engine issue. Other vessels including MV Glen Sannox, MV Isle of Islay, and MV Isle of Arran were also out of service due to unplanned technical issues. However, on Tuesday, CalMac confirmed that MV Isle of Islay—the newest ferry in the fleet, built in Turkey—had carried passengers for the first time, departing Port Askaig at 12:30pm.
Scottish Labour’s transport spokesperson Daniel Johnson said islanders needed a change of government, not warm words, and blamed years of SNP neglect for the chaos. Scottish Conservative transport spokesperson Sue Webber described the situation as a “meltdown” and accused the SNP of mismanagement and waste, while also criticising the Liberal Democrats for voting for SNP budgets.
An SNP spokesperson acknowledged the “unprecedented situation” but stressed that progress was being made, with MV Isle of Islay now operating. They highlighted £2 billion invested in ferry services and three major vessels due this year, adding that First Minister John Swinney was committed to resolving the issue. CalMac chief executive Duncan Mackison described the situation as “critical” and warned of continued service amendments in the coming days.
