The First Minister was speaking after further Glen Sannox sailing were cancelled.
First Minister John Swinney has issued a fresh apology to islanders over ferry disruption as one of the fleet’s newest vessels remains out of action.
A number of sailings on the Glen Sannox between Troon and the Isle of Arran were cancelled today, Tuesday, April 7, as publicly-owned operator CalMac struggled with a “reoccurring technical issue” in the vessel’s engine.
The ferry has been repeatedly taken out of service since its first sailing last January, after having been at the centre of a political wrangle over how long it took and the cost of the vessel its sister ship the Glen Rosa, which is yet to carry passengers.
The west coast ferry fleet has had a number of problems in recent weeks, with eight out of service at one point in March.
CalMac said today that a third of its entire fleet was unavailable for service due to planned maintenance or unplanned outages.
A total of six major vessels and four small vessels were not available due to various issues.
Speaking to the Press Association on Tuesday, the First Minister apologised again to islanders hit by the disruption as he faced criticism for his government’s handling of the fleet.
“There is very focused work going on to make sure that vessels can be in service and operating,” he said.
“Obviously, the Government is procuring a significant investment in the fleet with three additional vessels coming from the Cemre yard and the Glen Rosa yet to be completed and seven smaller vessels already in production.”
The First Minister said that, while the Government was “investing” in new vessels, he understood the difficulties the disruption caused for islanders.
But Scottish Lib Dem transport spokesman Jamie Greene said the SNP had proven it could not be trusted with the country’s ferries, adding that his party would bring forward legislation in the next parliamentary term to guarantee ferry services for islanders and expand existing compensation schemes.
“Hearing that the MV Glen Sannox is out of action will further frustrate the communities and businesses that depend on this essential route, who have already been let down repeatedly by the SNP,” he said.
“From launching vessels with painted on windows, failing to deal with cancellations, and putting in place an inadequate compensation scheme, the Scottish Government has shown it cannot be trusted with this essential transport infrastructure.”
While Scottish Labour transport spokesman Daniel Johnson said the Government’s “ferry fiasco continues to grow by the day”.
“This crisis has been years in the making and blame lies firmly at the door of this chaotic and incompetent SNP government – but no one has ever been held accountable,” he said.
“Islanders, taxpayers and shipyard workers are all paying the price for SNP failure – but enough is enough.”
CalMac chief executive officer Duncan Mackison said: “Almost a third of our entire fleet is unavailable for service, creating a set of circumstances where significant disruption on multiple routes served by major and small vessels is unavoidable.
“Though the situation appeared to be stabilising, emergent issues across major and small vessels means the unprecedented scenario we find ourselves in has worsened.
“Everyone at CalMac is acutely aware of the level of disruption many islands on our network have faced recently and I apologise for that.
“The full service impact of the current issues is being reviewed and plans will be shared with island communities tomorrow.”
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