MARITIME professionals’ union Nautilus International has welcomed a decision by the Scottish Government to review the need to put lifeline ferry services out to tender in the future.
Announcing the move, transport minister Humza Yousaf said he wanted to examine the legal, policy and financial implications affecting the procurement of key Scottish ferry services to islands and remote communities.
Following feedback from the European Commission, Humza Yousaf said the review would assess whether Scottish ferries could be covered by the ‘Teckal exemption’ which enables some services to be operated by an in-house provider without the need for competitive tendering.