More ferries will be built in Scotland despite the problems at a government-owned shipyard on the Clyde, the transport minister has predicted.
Jenny Gilruth told the Record that a "substantial" number of vessels in the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet were ageing and would need replacement in the coming years.
But she admitted confidence in CalMac among rural and island communities was "not particularly high" after a winter of regular service cancellations.
Two boats under construction at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow will not be finished until next year at the earliest after the project was beset by delays.
SNP ministers were forced to rescue the yard in 2019 after its previous owners were plunged into administration after the cost of building the ferries soared.
Opposition MSPs have questioned why Fergusons was awarded the contract in 2015 and have demanded Nicola Sturgeon appear before a Holyrood audit committee.
The yard missed out on a subsequent deal to build two ferries for the Islay route when it was handed to a business in Turkey.
But Gilruth, who was appointed transport minister in January, has insisted commercial shipbuilding still has a future on the Clyde.
Asked if Scots would see another CalMac vessel built in the country, she said: "I very much hope that we will.
"We have a publicly-owned shipyard in Fergusons and we need to make sure it is viable going forward and meets the conditions we have attached to the delivery of these vessels.
"But I would absolutely hope that was the case going forward.
"We have one of the largest ferry fleets in western Europe.
"A substantial number of those boats are older - therefore there is a real requirement to replace those vessels, and for a shipyard to provide that work."
Former transport minister Humza Yousaf said in 2017 the Scottish Government would look to award ferry contracts directly to public sector operators in the future if certain criteria could be met.
Gilruth said "at this moment in time" the government was still precluded from doing so.
She added: "In the future, any bidder would need to go through the procurement process, but we want Fergusons to be part of that.
"I don't want to predict what will happen in the future in terms of contracts going overseas, but obviously that has happened with the Islay vessels."
The SNP minister will meet with CalMac bosses this week after islanders faced months of disruption to services.
She continued: "Islander confidence in Cal Mac just now is not particularly high, I think it's fair to say.
"I will be meeting with Cal Mac this week to discuss a number of different issues, including service cancellation.
"I have offered an unequivocal apology to islanders over the service they had over the winter period. I don't think it's been acceptable and we need to do better as a government.
"We also need to build resilience in the fleet which is why what happened at Ferguson's is deeply disappointing.
"But the Cabinet Secretary was clear last week - we absolutely need to see those boats in the water as soon as possible."
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