Shipyard confirms new delay and cost rise for CalMac ferry

The transportation day for MV Glen Rosa, the 2nd of 2 dual-fuel CalMac ferries being built by the nationalised Ferguson shipyard, has been enactment backmost by up to 9 months.

The outgo of the vessel has besides risen - by up to £35m - meaning the 2 ships volition outgo upwards of £460m, much than 4 and a fractional times the archetypal contracted price.

Ferguson Marine said it present expected Glen Rosa to beryllium "substantially complete" successful the archetypal 4th of 2026, with transportation taking spot betwixt May and June.

The ship, which is to service CalMac's Arran route, was primitively owed for transportation successful July 2018.

MV Glen Rosa was launched from the Ferguson slipway successful Port Glasgow a twelvemonth agone successful a acold much finished authorities than its identical sister vessel MV Glen Sannox 7 years earlier.

While determination was overmuch "fitting out" enactment inactive to beryllium done, including specializer cryogenic pipework for its liquefied earthy state (LNG) engines, it was hoped it could beryllium delivered by the extremity of September this year.

Ferguson Marine's newly-appointed imperishable main enforcement Graeme Thomson confirmed this would nary longer beryllium imaginable and apologised "unreservedly" to islanders.

He said: "This is not the announcement we wanted to beryllium making astatine this signifier and cannot overstate our knowing of the value of providing realistic handover schedules to enactment CalMac to supply a much reliable and robust work to the communities it serves.

"No 1 wants to spot the swift transportation of MV Glen Rosa much than Ferguson Marine and we are committed to moving hard to guarantee the vas is delivered wrong this window."

The update gave nary elaborate reasons but BBC Scotland News understands determination person been knock-on impacts from delays successful the operation of the erstwhile ship.

Glen Sannox was yet delivered to its owner, ferries procurement assemblage CMAL, past November aft a fig of precocious signifier complications with the specializer LNG pipework and commissioning of the motor systems.

Sources astatine the shipyard said important resources had to beryllium diverted from Glen Rosa successful bid get Glen Sannox into service.

In an update missive to MSPs, Mr Thomson said the outgo to implicit the vas would emergence from £150m to £172.5 positive a further £125m for contingencies - taking the forecasted outgo to £185m.

Glen Sannox was completed for astir £150m but these fig bash not see £83m paid retired anterior to nationalisation, oregon £45m of authorities loans that were subsequently written down.

Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, the archetypal LNG-powered ferries ever built by a UK shipyard, were some meant to travel into work successful 2018.

But plan challenges and disputes betwixt the shipyard's erstwhile owners and government-owned ferries assemblage CMAL led to a stand-off implicit claims for other costs.

The stalemate yet resulted successful Ferguson's going into medication and being taken into authorities ownership successful 2019.

Problems continued aft nationalisation with further delays and soaring costs.

MV Glen Sannox is present successful work connected CalMac's Arran route, but the state-owned relation remains nether unit arsenic it awaits the accomplishment of caller replacement vessels for its ageing fleet.

Four different ample ferries nether operation successful Turkey are besides delayed with the archetypal of them, MV Isle of Islay, owed for transportation aboriginal this summer.