This article appears as part of the Scotland's Ferries newsletter.

The notion of hiving off some of ferry operator CalMac's routes to give to other companies has split opinion.

An unscientific straw poll by The Herald found that 44% backed the notion that there should be more private sector involvement in Scotland's ferries.

The readers poll of 147 found that 41% said no and some 15% said that all routes should be privatised.

But ministers have been told by a group of MSPs that some form of private operation of lifeline ferry services should still be in the melting pot.

It comes as one of Scotland's major operators Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd said that ministers should properly consider taking routes from CalMac to give to other companies, while enlisting firms to more immediately support services to deal with the lifeline service crisis.

Its managing director Gordon Ross said that a precedent has already been set with ministers sanctioning a nine month charter of MV Alfred from Pentland Ferries at a cost to the taxpayer of £1m-a-month to help cope with an ageing fleet which has suffered breakdowns and annual maintenance delays.

Mr Ross also supported the calls from some user groups for ministers to properly consider breaking up Scotland's ferry network to improve provision.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously insisted there are no plans to unbundle routes – which has raised concerns that the most lucrative routes would be sold off to private firms.

And then transport minister Jenny Gilruth earlier this year said that if she felt unbundling would be a "silver bullet, it would be on the table".

She did not believe unbundling would work given the "variety of routes and vessels that we have in CalMac".

Over ten years ago then transport minister Keith Brown said "no compelling case" had been made that "tendering individual routes or unbundling the current contract" would lead to greater benefits.

This was repeated by then first minister Alex Salmond who told MSPs in 2012 that the "case for unbundling, in our estimation, has not been made".

At that time, there was concern that it would hive off CalMac’s four busiest routes, as suggested in a 2010 consultation on future ferry services.

The concerns then were that the Ardrossan to Brodick on Arran, Wemyss Bay to Rothesay on Bute, Oban to Craignure on Mull and Largs to Cumbrae were to be split off as CalMac's contract was expiring.

Scotland's Ferries | CalMac chief rejects options for change in wake of protests over island ferry cuts

In 2015, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers welcomed a poll by Survation that found two thirds of Scottish voters thought CalMac ferry services should remain in the public sector while only one in ten support privatising the service.

An inquiry into the future of ferry services by the Scottish Parliament's transport committee says it wants to bring an end to the system for managing Scotland's lifeline services which "is not working".

Their analysis said that the ferry operator CalMac should benefit from a direct award of an extended ten-year rather than the current eight year contract to run over 30 lifeline services on the west coast of Scotland.

But they have called on ministers to use the opportunity of the award of the next west coast ferry contract next year to include specific requirements for CalMac to work with local authorities and communities on services delivery and decision making.

They have suggested that the Scottish Government should consider how to facilitate "easy use by private companies" of Scotland's public ports and harbour network to allow for "demand-led additional services to be provided with ease, for example for freight, provided this does not threaten lifeline services".

The Herald:

They accepted that the Scottish Government were likely to offer the next contract as a single bundle.

Edward Mountain, convener of the committee has said keeping CalMac in charge of the west coast lifeline contract is not a vote of confidence in how it has performed.

And he believed there were advantages to having private operators working alongside CalMac.

He said: "In some ways even by awarding it to CalMac, there is still opportunities, a new independent person to move freight and we have made it clear, that that should be an option. But we have to make our ports and harbours more available to third party independent ferry operators coming in. And that might put pressure on CalMac as well and would make them up their game."

The deadline for re-tendering the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract is believed to have passed.

It is estimated to take at least 18 months to draw up specifications in the contract and to launch a tendering process for Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services.

With the current west coast contract expiring in September 2024, it has been felt that Scottish ministers will now have to make a temporary extension to the existing contract operated by CalMac.

The inquiry had heard support for unbundling, to allow for more competition with some believing private sector operators would be able to deliver value for money, efficiency and flexibility.

Professor Neil Kay of Strathclyde University has said that joint ventures were common elsewhere and that the public-private dichotomy was misleading, proffering the view CalMac could successfully bid for smaller bundles potentially with delivery partners.

But opponents fear it could add to existing problems with recruiting staff, and lead to worse services in some areas while more profitable routes enjoyed a better service.

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