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A new £3.9bn contract to run Scotland's west coast ferry services for the next 10 years has been directly awarded to the state-owned operator CalMac Ferries Ltd.
The Scottish government said the service would now be focused on a "public service model" instead of being run on a commercial basis.
The current contract for the Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Service, already operated by CalMac, had been due to expire last September but was extended by a year.
Ministers had indicated that a direct award, without a competitive tender, was their preference, but they needed more time to ensure this could be done legally.
The previous eight-year contract for the heavily-subsidised ferry service was worth £975m.