Scotland's ferry fiasco explained

The 2nd and final ferry at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in the history of Scottish devolution has finally entered the water for the first time. But why is it so controversial? Back in 2015 a £97 million deal was struck to build 2 ferries to go to and from Scotland’s islands. But almost a decade on, the ferries are still not ready and the costs have soared to around £400 million. And all the while Islanders have been dealing with unreliable services on vessels that are up to 40 years old that keep breaking down. We’re working with one boat that’s 30 odd year old, one boat that’s 40 odd year old. They’re just not reliable enough to get, you know, to get to the markets. If we’d had, if we’d got the new boats when they were supposed to come, hopefully they would have been a better boat and would have the more reliable service. The yard where the vessels are being built was bought by the Scottish Government in 2019 after it collapsed into administration. The idea was to try and save jobs, but there’s no doubt this has been an escalating embarrassment for SNP ministers ever since. This was a £97 million contract that has now cost more than 1/4 of a billion pounds. Barack Obama was still in the White House when the steel was first cutting that ship that is behind us just now. This has been an embarrassment, hasn’t it? No. And I think that using that kind of language isn’t particularly helpful, particularly when it comes to the people who I’m here to support today. It’s the facts, Minister, namely the people of Port Glasgow and Ver Clyde and the workers of Ferguson Marine, who, as I say, have put in a huge amount of work to getting these two vessels to fruition. And the launch today is cause for celebration. The ferries were initially designed wrong, then hundreds of electrical cables were installed incorrectly. There’s been incompetent management and even questions about whether the initial deal was rigged. The list goes on. It hasn’t been ideal, to be perfectly honest with you. We wouldn’t have wanted the delays that we’ve suffered, but we are where we are. Do you recognise this project has been a failure? I recognise it’s had its challenges for sure. What are those challenges? Delivering on time and on budget? And what do you say to the island communities who are still without their ferries? I’ll do my best to get to get them finished in time and get them to them and that’s all can do, you know? I can’t. I can’t change the past. This has been branded the Great Ferry fiasco, and while one of them should be ready later this year, the other won’t set sail until at least late 2025. All the while, the cruellest impact continues to be felt here in island communities who rely on these services for almost every aspect of their daily lives. Always the worry is the ferry. The ferry is being worried because the ferry rules your life. When you live in an island, do you find yourself sitting there crying, thinking, oh, I can’t go through this anymore? I can’t face this journey across. I can’t face the fact that I don’t know whether it’s the boat that’s going to sail.