The contract to administer Ferry services on the west coast of Scotland in the future has been granted directly to the existing public operator Calmac Ferries Ltd.
The Scottish government said the service would now focus on a “public service model” instead of executing in a commercial basic.
The contract for the Ferry service of Clyde and Hebridean (CHFS) had the leg because it will expire last September, but extended for one year.
The ministers had indicated that a direct award was their preference, but they needed more to ensure that this could be done without a legal challenge.
Calmac is the largest ferry operator in the United Kingdom and has had the most recent contract to direct the routes on the west coast of Scotland since 2016, serving 50 destinations.
But the company has fought in recent years to maintain services with an aging fleet and increasingly reliable.
Since 2007, the ships and some of the ports on which they are based have a bone owned by a company separated from the government or orejada, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd or CMal in a movement designed to comply with the rules of competition of the EU.
The delays in the replacement of the oldest ships, in part due to the problems with two new dual fuel translators ordered a decade ago, have extended the service almost to the point of rupture, with many ships beyond their expected useful life.
