Ferry firm spends £300,000 sending staff to Germany

The figure, disclosed under freedom of information, covers the cost of flights, accommodation, food and taxi travel. A full breakdown of how the money was spent could not be provided as "all hard copy receipts would need to be examined and this would not be a viable use of time and resources".

A further £247,183 was spent by Calmac to send a crew out to Germany to bring the £42 million ferry back to Scotland once construction - which was hampered by storms and delays in fitting its electrical system - was finally completed. The bill covered flights, accommodation and any additional expenses, such as taxis and food.

However, a spokesman for Calmac said they were contractually obliged to send their own staff to Germany to familiarise themselves with the new ferry, and that every effort had been made to minimise the costs.

The bill will ultimately be picked up by taxpayers through Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), the Scottish Government-owned body which owns the ships, ports, harbours and infrastructure for ferry services in the West of Scotland.

CMAL was responsible for awarding the contract to the German shipyard, which has since gone into adminstration, in 2012.

Tom Docherty, CEO at CMAL, said the only UK-based bid was 50 per cent more expensive and that the Flensburger firm offered the most "economically advantageous" tender.

Mr Docherty said: "Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft MBH & Co. KG was selected as the preferred bidder as they submitted the most economically advantageous tender following a procurement process. Forty shipyards were contacted and twelve provided indicative proposals and prices based on the detailed technical specification provided.

"Only one UK yard submitted a proposal, however, their indicative price was 50 per cent more than other quality yards and was rejected."

The vessel, which is being used on the Stornoway-Ullapool route, was launched from Flensburger on March 21 but is still completing sea trials before it can enter service.

It can carry 700 passengers and 143 cars, although it will operate as a passenger-only service for six weeks between February and April next year while Ullapool harbour undergoes work to replace its 42-year-old car ramp.

Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Tavish Scott said: "The decision to build this ferry in Germany has meant the shipping company spending £300,000 on visiting the yard. "Ferry users on the west coast will wonder if that is the best use of their fare money."

David Stewart, Scottish Labour's transport spokesman, said: "The Scottish Government should be focused on getting the best value for all of our transport services, including development and delivery. I will be seeking a meeting with the Managing Director of Caledonian MacBrayne at the earliest possible opportunity."

A spokesman for CalMac said: "As part of the build process, as the end users of the vessel, a small number of senior managers and senior crew from CalMac were required to attend in Germany to provide technical input as necessary and to familiarise themselves with all aspects of the ship, including engines, controls and safety systems, as the build progressed.

"As the ship neared completion, the full crew were required to spend time on the ship to be trained and become fully competent in all aspects of the onboard safety systems, in order that the ship could be fully certificated and ready to sail back to Scotland and subsequently enter service.

"This input to the build, internal fit out and operational preparations, when taken together, required CFL staff and crew to travel to and from Germany for many months and every effort was made to minimise the cost of doing so through the use, wherever possible, of low cost flights and accommodation."