Caledonian MacBrayne (Scottish Gaelic: Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands.

The contract for operating Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services using these vessels was put out to open competitive tender.

[4][8] MacBrayne's, initially known as David Hutcheson & Co., began in 1851 as a private steamship operator when G. and J. Burns, operators of the largest of the Clyde fleets, decided to concentrate on coastal and transatlantic services and handed control of their river and Highland steamers to a new company in which Hutcheson, their manager of these services, became senior partner.

[5] In 1948, the shares in the company owned by the LMS Railway passed to the British Transport Commission, thus partially nationalising it.

In July 1969, Coast Lines' 50% shareholding passed into state ownership, so that the company became wholly nationalised, and all the shares were transferred to the state-owned Scottish Transport Group.

It extended its line to bypass the G&SW's Prince's Pier at Greenock and continue on to the fishing village of Gourock, where they had purchased the harbour.

At the end of December 1968, management of the CSP passed to the Scottish Transport Group, which gained control of MacBrayne's the following June.

In 1996, CalMac opened its first route outside Scotland, winning a ten-year contract to provide a lifeline service to Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland.

[12] Some island and union groups opposed the tendering process, fearing it would lead to cuts in services and could be a prelude to full privatisation.

To enable competitive bidding on an equal basis, Caledonian MacBrayne was split into two separate companies on 1 October 2006.

Thus, from leaving the hands of David MacBrayne 78 years earlier in 1928, the west coast ferry service returned to the fold in 2006, vastly enlarged.

In May 2011, Argyll Ferries Ltd, a newly formed subsidiary of David MacBrayne, was named as the preferred bidder for a passenger-only Dunoon-Gourock service.

These had historically faced strong opposition from Sabbatarian elements in the Lewis community, particularly the Lord's Day Observance Society and the Free Church of Scotland.

However, CalMac stated that EU equality legislation made it unlawful to refuse a service to the whole community because of the religious beliefs of a part of it.

[29] In May 2024 Transport Scotland granted a contract extension to CalMac to continue to operate the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services until 30 September 2025.

[30] The company enjoys a de facto monopoly on the shipment of freight and vehicles to the islands, and competes for passenger traffic with a number of aircraft services of varying quality and reliability.

[33] The tenth "major unit", MV Glen Sannox, was handed over to CalMac on 21 November 2024, and entered full passenger service on the Troon - Brodick route on 13 January 2025.

These double-ended ferries are mostly symmetrical when viewed from the side, with no operational bow or stern (although in official documents the designation of such is given).

They generally serve shorter, more sheltered routes, although MV Loch Portain is able to handle Force 7 gales and carry 36 cars and 149 passengers, with a crew of five.

MV Lochnevis (2000) was designed for the Small Isles service, being fitted with a large stern vehicle ramp that allows her to berth a considerable distance from a slipway, protecting her exposed Azimuth thrusters in shallow waters.

The second of two dual fuel ferries for Arran constructed by Ferguson Marine Engineering, MV Glen Rosa, is expected by September 2025.

[28][42] A £91 million contract to build two ferries for the Islay service was awarded to Cemre Shipyard in Turkey in March 2022.

CMAL signed a contract in January 2023 for Cemre Shipyard to also build the two ferries, which would allow a dedicated, peak season services to Tarbert and Lochmaddy from Uig and provide additional resilience in the fleet.