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, the Firth of Clyde and the Northern Isles.

CMAL is a wholly owned public corporation of the Scottish Government, with Scottish ministers as sole shareholders.^[2]

Until 1 October 2006 Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd, which was wholly owned by the Scottish government, 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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:

• An asset-owning company, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL)
• A new operating company, CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL).

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, the majority of 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.^[4]

CMAL's responsibilities include:^[2]

• Maintaining, improving and enhancing assets such as vessels and the land and property around piers and harbours
• Seeking extra investment to invest in ferries and harbour facilities
• Working with stakeholders within Scotland and the wider maritime community to be acknowledged as the principal provider of the most cost-effective, innovative ferries and port infrastructure to the benefit of local communities

CMAL currently owns 37 ferries, of which 32 are operated by Calmac Ferries on routes to the islands and peninsulas of the west of Scotland.^[5] In April 2018 it was agreed that the five vessels operated by NorthLink Ferries on routes to the Orkney and Shetland islands would also join the fleet.^[5][6] Many ferries are specially built for the ports they serve yet are still interchangeable and able to serve different crossings and can carry from one to 143 cars. The total fleet value was estimated at £130m in 2017.^[7]

MV Raasay and MV Eigg ceased operation with Caledonian MacBrayne in early 2018,^[8][9] and are now no longer part of the fleet.^[5]

CMAL is Harbour Authority at 24 locations across Scotland and owns the associated port infrastructure and properties at each of these locations. Additionally, CMAL owns and leases a number of properties at various locations associated with the delivery of Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services.^[10]

As Statutory Harbour Authority for a number of these harbours, CMAL's responsibilities and duties include:^[11]

• A duty of care to all port users
• An obligation to conserve and promote the safe use of the harbours
• Responsibility for efficiency, economy and safety of operation, in respect of the services and facilities provided.

CMAL has come under significant criticism for its handling of procurement, particularly in relation to the building programme of MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa, both under construction at Ferguson Shipyard in Port Glasgow. The function and future of CMAL is currently under consideration by the Scottish Government via Project Neptune which is considering the management and delivery of Scottish ferry services. The future of CMAL is subject to a number of proposals being made including re-merging CMAL and Caledonian MacBrayne as was the case previously or indeed CMAL being absorbed into the function of Transport Scotland. A Scottish Parliament committee was critical of CMAL and ultimately has considered the proposals outlined in Project Neptune, recommending CMAL be abolished and a new public division of Transport Scotland established called Ferries Scotland. There have been numerous calls such as that from Kenny MacLeod, Chairman of Harris Development Trust, to scrap CMAL and reintegrate the organisation as an internal organ of Caledonian MacBrayne. These comments were also echoed in the media by the RMT Union. ^{[citation needed]}