What broken ferries reveal about Scotland’s government

WHEN OVER a quarter of your population rises up in protest, something is seriously amiss. In June some 500 of the 1,900 residents of South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides, demonstrated over their island’s wretched ferry service. For much of that month their vital connection to the mainland had been cancelled, one of a long-running series of transport problems for Scotland’s beleaguered coastal settlements.

Ferry disruptions are costly. Island economies suffer when tourists or goods, including basics, are kept out. In August last year shops in South Uist imposed wartime-style rations, limiting sales of milk and bread. Some 90 inhabited Scottish islands rely on ferries. But the propellers have been coming off. Last year technical faults forced the state-owned Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac)—which serves over 50 ports along 200 miles of the western coastline—to cancel 1,830 sailings, a 70% rise from 2019. Its ferries were on time on just 31 days in the year.