Over £1m spent on sending Scottish ferry staff to Turkey

MV Isle of Islay is one of four ferries being built in Turkey

More than £1m has been spent sending CalMac and CMAL staff to Turkey to oversee the construction of four new ferries, a freedom of information request has revealed.

The two companies, which operate and manage Scotland's nationalised ferry networks, have spent £1,016,162 on remuneration, subsistence, accommodation, flights and car hires on staff visiting the Turkish yard since 2022.

The Scottish Conservatives, who obtained the figures, said taxpayers were being "left to pick up the tab" for the SNP's "ferries fiasco which has left islanders without the vessels they need".

CalMac and CMAL said their staff's work in Turkey was "vital" and "essential".

A CalMac spokeswoman said most of the money related to staff costs, including wages, which would have been paid regardless of where the crew were.

She said the extra amount - £23,000 - was for travel and subsistence costs which covered flights to and from Turkey, hotel accommodation, and general subsistence costs.

CMAL also said the same wages would have been paid to its staff regardless of travel costs.

The Cemre shipyard in Turkey was awarded the contracts to build four new vessels worth more than £200m.

These vessels are the MV Isle of Islay - which is due in November and will operate on the Kennacraig to Islay route - the MV Loch Indaal, MV Lochmor and MV Claymore at six-month intervals after the first vessel's delivery.

CalMac sent eight staff to Turkey, spending £845,981, while £170,181 was spent on five CMAL employees.

One Ferguson Marine employee was also sent to Turkey but the costs were covered by CMAL.

The first of the Turkish ferries, MV Isle of Islay, was launched a year ago by Morag McNeill, the chairwoman of CMAL, in a ceremony at the Cemre shipyard.

The nationalised Ferguson Marine is currently building two separate ferries - the Glen Sannox and the still under construction Glen Rosa.

The costs of the vessels has risen to more than four times their original £97m price tag, and were pushed back for completion several times.

'Excessive' spending

Tory transport spokeswoman Sue Webber said taxpayers were being forced to foot yet another hefty bill.

"After squandering half-a-billion pounds on the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, ministers have blown another £1m flying staff to Turkey to keep tabs on the ferries being built there.

"Some project oversight is understandable after the huge problems with the Ferguson-built ferries - but this level of spending seems excessive."

Webber said the SNP had "betrayed islanders and taxpayers at every turn" by leaving remote communities reliant on out-of-date vessels while "letting costs spiral out of control for hard-pressed Scots".

"SNP ministers, who are responsible for Ferguson Marine, must finally provide the support the yard needs to compete, so that ferries can be built here in Scotland, not abroad," she added.

The CalMac spokeswoman said: "New vessels are an essential addition to the CalMac fleet and we are very much looking forward to MV Isle of Islay joining us next month.

"Staff and crew have been spending valuable time at the yard in Turkey carrying out vital work to support CMAL with the build process and to ensure that the vessel is built as specified, and meets all legal and classification standards.

"This is the same as the process involved for MV Glen Sannox before she joined the fleet."

She added that staff working in Turkey included marine and technical specialists as well as the senior crew who will be responsible for the vessel's safe passage to Scotland.

"Their role includes the implementation of the important processes and procedures required to gain the necessary safety management and other certification needed to operate the vessel in UK waters," she added.

"Thirteen brand new vessels will be joining CalMac by 2029 and will be of huge benefit to service resilience and reliability, to the benefit of all customers, including island communities."

A spokesperson for CMAL said: "CMAL is required on site throughout the build of vessels to provide essential quality assurance and supervision.

"Remuneration is the same regardless of the build location, and travel and accommodation costs are standard.

"These form part of the overall project budget, which remains on target."

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: "As people would expect, CMAL has been and is continuing to work closely with the shipyard to reduce the time between delivery of each of the new vessels where possible.

"We expect delivery of MV Isle of Islay later this year and MV Lochmor was successfully launched on 23 August 2025 marking another construction milestone."