Online Services. Pay It. Report It. Request It. Its name is synonymous with the west coast of Scotland, providing vital lifeline ferry services and carrying millions of people each year to and from the islands and remote peninsular communities.
It has been, and remains a major local employer, both on shore and at sea. This short history summarises the key milestones from its inception in the s to the modern, award-winning operator it is today:. In the late 's the Hutcheson brothers retired leaving the firm in the hands of David MacBrayne to which the firm was renamed. In fairly quick succession new railways began to reach the West Coast - at Fort William, Kyle of Lochalsh and Mallaig and the fleet rosters were altered to meet the new situation.
There followed a period of new ship building, largely for the mail routes to the islands and remote mainland communities. Following the Great War of - David MacBrayne was operating a much-reduced fleet and this eventually resulted in the company's withdrawal from the tender for the mail contract. Soon after, the shipping companies were amalgamated and renamed Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd; lorry services were operated by MacBrayne Haulage while David MacBrayne was retained for certain minor services.
From the sixties to the mid-eighties many improvements and refinements took place in order to complete the modern roll on-roll off ferry revolution and ensure that all vessels were operated to the maximum levels of safety. In the then Scottish Executive, decided that under EU rules ferry services were required to be put out to tender, but this presented an issue as the vessels required to operate the services, and many of the ports to which services ran, were owned by Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd, giving it an unfair advantage over potential competitors.
CMAL leases the vessels and piers to the operator of the Clyde Hebrides Ferry services currently CFL and is also responsible for the procurement of new ships and the maintenance and development of port facilities in its ownership. In , Transport Scotland, which is part of Scottish Government, announced it was to extend the period of the CHFS contract by a further three years, and go out to tender for a new contract to commence in October In May it was confirmed that the bid submitted by CalMac Ferries Ltd had been successful and a 6-year-contract - with the option of a two year extension- was awarded by Transport Scotland.
The Transport Minister Humza Yousaf MSP subsequently announced a review into ferry tendering procedures, which specifically looked at the possibility of applying the so-called Teckal Exemption to Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services which would remove the requirement under EU law of putting lifeline service out to tender.
It believed that with some minor changes to the constitution of David MacBrayne Ltd. The policy review is continuing to assess the governance arrangements required for a company owned by Scottish Ministers to be in a position to receive a direct award. The Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services network will continue to be operated by CalMac under the terms of the current contract until In December the Scottish Government announced that it would not be putting the contract for the Gourock-Dunoon ferry service out to tender as previously indicated and would be transferring responsibility for the passenger-only service to CalMac Ferries Ltd to be operated under the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract.
The company was wholly owned by Scottish Ministers with these services requiring an annual revenue deficit grant from the Scottish Executive to maintain lifeline service levels. In order to comply with European guidelines on State Aids in Maritime Transport, an open public tender was deemed necessary in respect of these ferry services.
In recognition of the uniqueness of the fleet and in order to ensure a level playing field for all bidders, on 1 October Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd was split into two companies:. Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd, now CMAL, continues to own the vessels and land-based assets ports, harbours, etc and makes them available to an operator through an open tendering process.
The original six-year contract was extended in and following a competitive procurement process in and , CFL was awarded the contract for a further eight years until Serco NorthLink Ferries will operate the services under contract until 30 June Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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