The Scottish Parliament must be urgently recalled to solve the “crisis” engulfing the country’s west coast ferries, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have demanded.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, the party’s leader, said MSPs must return to Holyrood to “sort out this mess”.
The Scottish Parliament entered recess last week ahead of the May election but can be recalled up until April 8.
The Scottish Government said it is working “urgently” with CalMac to tackle ferry shortages on the west coast island network.
Eight CalMac ferries are out of action, four of them for planned maintenance and the others due to technical issues.
The ferry company said the “critical situation” had worsened over the weekend after MV Lord of the Isles, which serves Coll, Tiree & Colonsay, reported an engine issue on Saturday.
Meanwhile the long-awaited MV Glen Sannox, which only entered service last year between Troon and Brodick on the island of Arran; the MV Isle of Islay; and MV Isle of Arran, were also not in service due to “unplanned technical issues”.
On Tuesday, CalMac said the MV Isle of Islay, the newest ferry in the CalMac fleet, had carried passengers for the first time.
The vessel, one of four new CalMac ferries built in Turkey, is intended to provide a mainland link to the people of Islay and Jura. It departed Port Askaig at 12.30pm on Tuesday.
Speaking in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Mr Cole-Hamilton blamed the SNP for the ferry “crisis”.
The SNP are wreaking never-ending havoc for islanders, coastal communities and business along the west coast.
— Scottish Lib Dems (@scotlibdems) March 31, 2026
It is an out-and-out disgrace.
Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats have laid out plans for a new ferries bill to guarantee vessels are built on time and within budget. pic.twitter.com/gN8ElW35vA
He told the Press Association: “I’ve called today for the Scottish Parliament to be recalled as a matter of urgency.
“This is a crisis of the SNP’s creation and it is engulfing our island and coastal communities.
“We need parliamentarians to come back to the Scottish Parliament, sort out this mess and immediately get compensation to everyone affected.”
The Scottish Lib Dem leader said that as well as compensation to islanders, his party would put forward a new ferries Bill in the next Parliament.
He said this would “put communities at the centre of a rolling 30-year procurement programme”.
He added: “It’s no surprise that ferry fleets age and need to be replaced, but it seems to have come as a surprise to the SNP – that can’t be allowed to happen again.”
Scottish Labour’s transport spokesperson, Daniel Johnson, said: “Islanders don’t need more warm words from politicians – they need a change in government.
“The chaos in our ferry system is the result of years of SNP neglect and it is piling pressure on islanders and local businesses.
“We need urgent action to deal with the current crisis wreaking havoc with services but, fundamentally, we need an end to the SNP incompetence at the root of this crisis.
“Only Scottish Labour can get rid of this failing SNP Government, fix the mess they have made of our ferry system and deliver a system that works.”
Scottish Conservative spokesperson for transport, Sue Webber, said: “It’s hard to believe, but the suffering of Scotland’s island communities due to the SNP’s ferries scandal is intensifying rather than easing.
“The meltdown in the network at one of the busiest times of year is the direct result of years of nationalist mismanagement and a staggering waste of taxpayers’ money.
“Islanders have been betrayed at every turn but, maybe, the current crisis wouldn’t be so deep if the Liberal Democrats hadn’t repeatedly voted for SNP budgets.
“On May 7, voters can use their peach ballot to back the Scottish Conservatives and stop an SNP majority.”
A spokesperson for the SNP said: “This is an unprecedented situation, but rightly the focus is on bringing ferries back into service and progress is being made on that front with the MV Isle of Islay operating today – our island communities need action, not political soundbites and that’s the priority right now.
“While we have an immediate set of circumstances, the long term solution is more ships and we are building them – we’ve got three major vessels coming on stream this year with more than £2.0 billion invested in ferry services in our time in office.
“People and businesses affected need strong, serious leadership and a plan – John Swinney is a man that is absolutely committed to our island communities and he is fully focused on getting this situation sorted to ensure a ferry service people deserve.”
Duncan Mackison, CalMac’s chief executive, previously described the situation as “critical” and warned ferry users that services will continue to be amended in the coming days.
