There were just seven days in a 15 month period when CalMac ferries ran to schedule, it has been revealed.

In the whole of 2023, there were just two days when Caledonian MacBrayne services performed as scheduled, figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats have unveiled.

That is despite there being 164,844 total operated sailings in the year.

And in the first three months of 2024 – from January 1 to March 31 – there were five days the sailings performed to schedule, with 34,114 sailing in that time.

Willie Rennie, the economy spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said the vital island communities served by CalMac were being let down.

The figures, obtained by freedom of information requests, also showed there were 15,365 cancelled ferries in the 15 month period, with 56.2% of cancellations resulting from weather issues and 30% from technical faults.

Out of the 456 days in the 15-month period, 285 of these were hit by ferry cancellations.

The data also revealed that 5,251 sailings were cancelled for technical reasons across the same timeframe, up 57% compared to the previous year.

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It is a 24% rise when compared to the previous year, January 2022 to March 2023.

Meanwhile, ferry fares across Scotland are set to rise by 10%, with Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop describing the increase as “unwelcome” but “necessary”.

The rise will be introduced early in the new year.

Mr Rennie told The Herald: “The SNP have let down islanders for too long.

“Despite the maintenance bill for ferries spiralling, there is almost nothing to show for it. More than 5,000 ferries were cancelled for technical reasons in the last year.

“Islanders are losing business, missing events and hospital appointments. The SNP have had 17 years to sort this out; they have no one else to blame but themselves.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats would get the basics right and stand up for island communities. That starts by making sure islanders have access to the ferries they need and rebuilding our country’s economic reputation, which has been sorely undermined by the SNP.”

Duncan Mackison, interim chief executive at CalMac, said the operator had a 92.6% reliability rate between January 1 2023 and March 31 2024.

He said that meant “more than nine in every ten sailings operated as planned. In that timeframe, we successfully ran 198,952 sailings out of 207,495 scheduled, with 7,319 of these cancelled due to weather and tidal conditions which are outwith our control.”

Mr Mackison said that in the same time period, 38% of all days saw more sailing operated than originally scheduled, amounting to a total of 174 days from a possible 456 where total operated sailings outnumber those timetabled.

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That, he said, underlines CalMac’s “commitment to try and maintain and deliver a service in the face of disruption”.

He added: “This can mean sailing operate earlier or later than timetabled to ensure people and lifeline services can still travel.

“This is common on routes where due to distance there is only one return sailing per day.

“The arrival of six major new vessels by 2026, the first of which is due to be handed over imminently, will improve our reliability and resistance in services across the west coast.”

It comes at a time when the ferry network across Scotland continues to be hit by disruption and breakdowns.

The MV Hebridean Isles had seen engine failings causing delays across the Arran and Ardrossan route.

The vessel was already marked for retirement in November as it approaches 40 years of service.

The MV Caledonian Isles, one of the largest ships in CalMac’s fleet, is undergoing repairs, causing disruption across the South Uist and Barra routes.

Meanwhile, the two overdue and overbudget vessels – Glen Rosa and Glen Sannox – currently under construction by Ferguson Marine are expected to carry passengers on the Arran route when they enter service.

Glen Sannox, which was supposed to be delivered in 2018, has now completed sea trials.

And four ferries being built in Turkey for CalMac are also being delayed.

The MV Isle of Islay was expected by mid-October. It was then pushed to the end of 2024 – but has been hit by further delays caused by a shortage of workers and supply chain issues, meaning the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard will not have the vessel ready until around February.

It will have knock-on effects for the three other ferries being built in the country.

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “As the information provided by CalMac made clear, between 1 January 2023 and 31 March 2024, 198,952 sailings operated successfully out of 207,495 scheduled. 7319 of these sailings were cancelled due to weather and tidal conditions which are outwith the control of the operator.

“Delivering six new major vessels to serve Scotland’s ferry network by 2026 is a priority for this government. We have also started the procurement process for seven new smaller vessels as part of phase one of the Small Vessel Replacement Plan.

“We have invested more than £2 billion in our ferry services since 2007 and we have outlined plans to invest around £700 million in a five year plan to improve ferry infrastructure. To improve resilience in the short term, we have purchased the MV Loch Frisa and chartered the MV Alfred and will continue to work closely with operators and CMAL.”