One of the ferries being built on the Clyde has suffered a new setback and its delivery will be pushed back by a further six months.
Corrosion has been found on the MV Glen Rosa – the second of two dual-fuel ferries being built for CalMac – and it will require an extra period in dry dock. It means it will not come into service in the summer as planned.
Separately, ferries operator CMAL confirmed that MV Isle of Islay, the first of four CalMac ferries being built in Turkey, also faces another delay and will not be handed over this year.
MV Glen Rosa and its sister vessel MV Glen Sannox were meant to enter service in 2018 but the build has been plagued by design challenges and disputes over costs which saw the firm fall back into administration and nationalised.
The second of the hybrid propulsion ships has been moored at the quayside of the Port Glasgow shipyard for fitting out work since its slipway launch in April last year.
At the time of the launch it was hoped it would be handed over this autumn as it was in a far more complete state than Glen Sannox, famously sent down the slipway seven years earlier with painted-on windows and plywood funnels.
But a final push to get Glen Sannox into service saw resources diverted and a nine-month delay for Glen Rosa was announced in May, meaning it has now spent 20 months in the water.
Ferguson Marine, which is building the vessels, said difficulties in securing a timeslot for docking had a knock-on impact on the schedule for commissioning the ship, meaning it was now aiming for delivery within the fourth quarter of 2026.
Chief executive Graeme Thomson, who joined the firm in May, apologised to those affected by the latest delay including island communities.
He said: “Glen Rosa has been and will continue to be a complex project, but the team and I are fully committed to doing everything we can to bring forward delivery and being as transparent as possible about where we are in the process.”
The total bill for the two Ferguson-built ships stands at about £460m, more than four times the £97m contract price.
West Scotland MSP and Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Jamie Greene said: “The SNP’s ferries fiasco just goes on and on. This fresh delay means it’s now going to take more than 10 years to build this ferry, at goodness knows what cost, yet no SNP minister has ever had the decency to resign.
“It’s a cynical move by yard bosses to sneak out this information now, when SNP ministers can’t be called to answer questions on it at Holyrood until January.”
Scottish Labour Transport spokesperson Daniel Johnson said “These delays are an embarrassment for the SNP government, but they are a hammer blow to the island communities waiting for these lifeline ferries.
“The SNP’s ferry fiasco has caused misery for islanders, cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds and damaged Scottish shipbuilding.”
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