Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited
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| Public corporation (State-owned) | |
| Industry | Water transport |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland |
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Area served
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River Clyde, Outer Hebrides, Inner Hebrides |
| Services | Ferries, Harbours |
| Owner | Scottish Government |
| Website | http://www.cmassets.co.uk |
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (usually shortened to CMAL or CMAssets; Stòras Mara Cailleannach Earr in Scottish Gaelic) owns the ferries, ports, harbours and infrastructure for the ferry services serving the west coast of Scotland and the Firth of Clyde.
CMAL is a wholly owned public corporation of the Scottish Government, with Scottish Ministers as sole shareholders.
Until 1 October 2006 Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd, which was wholly owned by Scottish Ministers, provided the majority of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services and owned the associated vessels and a number of the ports and harbour facilities that the vessels used. These services required an annual revenue deficit grant from the then Scottish Executive to maintain lifeline service levels.
To comply with European guidelines on State Aids in Maritime Transport, an open public tender was deemed necessary in respect of these ferry services and the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) was tendered as a single bundle, with the exception of the Gourock-Dunoon service.
In recognition of the uniqueness of the fleet and to ensure a level playing field for all bidders, on 1 October 2006 Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd was split into:
This was done by Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd transferring its operations - but not its assets - to CFL. The operation of the lifeline ferry service was then put out to open competitive tender.
CMAL now owns all vessels, land based assets (ports, harbours etc.) and the Caledonian MacBrayne Brand and makes them available to an operator through an open tendering process. CFL continues to operate the services after winning the tendering process and holds the Public Services Contract (PSC) until 30 September 2013. Under the terms of the tender CFL is bound to use the vessels of CMAL.
CMAL’s responsibilities include:
CMAL currently owns 32 ferries, all of which are operated by Calmac Ferries and Rathlin Ferries on routes to the islands and peninsulas of the west of Scotland.
All ferries are specially built for the ports they serve yet are still interchangeable and able to serve different crossings and can carry from five to 143 cars. The total fleet value is £120m.
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Wikipedia