A “LIFELINE” ferry operator in Scotland should be seized back from privateers and run as a public good, transport union RMT said yesterday.

Northlink Ferries, which runs boats between the north of Scotland and the Orkney and Shetland islands, is currently contracted to outsourcing giant Serco.

RMT said Northlink received a 10 per cent increase in its subsidy from the public purse when it took over the service in 2012 from Caledonian MacBrayne, a publicly owned operator of ferries in other parts of Scotland.