Ferry services to the islands and remote peninsulas in the Clyde and Hebrides Islands and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland are subsidised by the Scottish Government. These ferry services are provided by under tendered contracts to the Scottish Government by CalMac Ferries Limited, Northlink Ferries Limited and Shetland Line (1984) respectively.
Scottish Ministers are the sole shareholder of David MacBrayne Limited, the group holding company, that in turn owns CalMac Ferries Limited and Northlink Ferries Limited. Scottish ministers are also the sole shareholder of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, the asset owning company with responsibility for the fleet of vessels and a number of piers and harbours utilised on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services. Through Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited financial assistance is available for the development and improvement of lifeline piers and harbour infrastructure within the Highlands and Islands.
Ports policy is devolved to Scottish Ministers. More information is available at the link on the left hand side of the page.
Scotland's canals are operated by British Waterways in Scotland, a statutory cross-border public corporation. The Scottish Government provides deficit grant-in-aid funding to British Waterways. British Waterways maintains Scotland's canals and promotes their use for leisure, recreation, tourism, regeneration and transport while conserving the waterways' natural and built heritage. More information is available at the link on the left hand side of the page
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