Question reference: S6W-00355
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 2 June 2021
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Current status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 June 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional costs (a) it and (b) the operator will incur if additional vessels are chartered to cover prolonged periods of service disruption as set out in the current contract for Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.
Answer
The cost incurred due to disruptions, including potential charter of any additional tonnage, if available, would depend on the time over which vessels were chartered for and under which conditions. We are actively exploring opportunities for chartering additional tonnage, including consideration of the suitability of MV Pentalina to increase resilience across the network. In addition, we have also confirmed new investment of £580 million in ports and vessels to support and improve Scotland’s ferry services over the next five years, as part of our wider infrastructure investment plan.