The Scottish Government is considering providing a permanent public contract to state-owned ferry operator CalMac to run the ageing fleet.
An uncontested direct award to state-owned CalMac is Ministers’ is reported to be the preferred option for the next contract over the future of lifeline ferry services.
CalMac's current £975m eight-year Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract expires in September 2024.
Now it it has emerged that ministers have a permanent contract on the agenda - closing the door on opening routes up to private operators.
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Read more around this issue: Ministers could give uncontested permanent ferries contract to CalMac
The Scottish Government has previously said that a direct award should be a "catalyst for change" with a new management culture emerging, "one that is more supportive of the community's customers and passengers served by the network".
The move to prefer to directly award to CalMac has proved controversial in some quarters.
One ferry user group official said that there needed to be fundamental changes to the way that the ferries are run before a direct or permanent contract award to CalMac was considered.
One advantage cited for a direct contract is a saving on the tender process. The Scottish Government has estimated that the costs of tendering the 2016 to 2024 contract was £1.1m.
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