MV Glen Sannox will be delayed for a further two months.
By Harry Bell
BBC Scotland is reporting today that the delivery of a long-delayed CalMac ferry has been put back again by two months due to issues with its dual fuel propulsion system.
MV Glen Sannox, being built at Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow, is now due to be handed over to ferries agency Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) by 31 July.
It is the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ferry constructed in the UK.
New Ferguson chief executive, John Petticrew, said its “complexity” and difficulty of installation was to blame for the delay.
Mr Petticrew pointed to a “lack of available expert knowledge and qualified resources in the UK” around LNG systems.
In a letter to Holryood’s net zero, energy and transport committee, he said: “The installation and commissioning of the LNG system, a first in class for UK shipbuilding, remains particularly challenging.
He added: “Regrettably this will result in a delay of the delivery of this fully commissioned dual fuel system vessel, now targeted for the end of July 2024.
“We appreciate and fully understand that there will be disappointment in all quarters.”
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson MSP, pictured right, said the latest delay was “yet another huge blow to Scotland’s betrayed island communities”.
He added: “It means that – after testing – another whole summer season will have gone by without desperately-needed new CalMac vessels being in operation, thanks to the SNP’s monumental incompetence.
“That’s another peak holiday season for hotels, restaurants and businesses completely at the mercy of a decrepit fleet that simply can’t be relied upon”.
The LNG has to be kept at minus 162C to remain in liquid form and the shipyard is dependent on specialist contractors for much of the work.
Cost estimates to complete both Glen Sannox and its sister ship Glen Rosa remain unchanged, at just under £300m.
That figure does not include £83m paid for the ships prior to nationalisation, £45m of government loans that were later written off, or the cost of renewing expired warranties.
The ship will require up to two months of sea trials by operator CalMac after handover so are unlikely to enter active service until early November.