Exclusive:New delay hits 4 CalMac ferries being built in Turkey for key Scottish routes

Vessels have been ordered for Islay and Harris-North-Uist-Skye routes

Ferries being built in Turkey for CalMac have suffered another delay that is expected to put back their completion by a total of nearly six months.

Isle of Islay, the first of four vessels, is not now expected to be delivered by the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard at Yalova until the end of March.

Isle of Islay was launched in March at the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard at Yalova in Turkey | Cmal

Scottish Government ferry-buying firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal) said in a letter to MSPs the delivery date “will be extended beyond the mid-February 2025 date” advised in its previous update in September.

Cmal chief executive Kevin Hobbs told The Scotsman that was now expected to be to the end of March.

He said: “We now know we won’t meet mid-February, but we are very hopeful that we can still get the delivery at the end of March.”

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Mr Hobbs said the last of the four ferries was now expected to be completed by March 2026 compared to the scheduled date of October next year.

Isle of Islay, which is to operate on the main Islay route from Kennacraig in Kintyre, was launched in March and was due to have been finished in October.

However, that was pushed back by two months to December in August, and then another two months to February in October.

Mr Hobbs said initial sea trials in the Sea of Marmara off Turkey were due to take place in February, which would “shake out any issues”.

He said that after completion, Isle of Islay was expected to take about two weeks to sail to Scotland, including a refuelling stop, followed by three to four weeks of trials at ports before entering passenger service.

The second ferry, Loch Indaal, which was launched in June, is due to be completed in June next year, also for the Islay route.

The other two, Lochmor and Claymore, are due to be deployed on the Little Minch routes between Skye, Harris and North Uist.

The delays have been attributed to hold-ups in the delivery of parts and a shortage of specialist workers at shipyard.

Cmal said materials and equipment had taken longer to arrive because of unrest around the Red Sea and the war in Ukraine, while a major earthquake in Turkey had diverted yard workers to the rescue effort.

Mr Hobbs said: “We signed a contract with certain delivery dates, but then there was the Mariupol steel plant [in Ukraine] blown to pieces, the earthquake which killed 70,000 people, including a lot of relatives of people who work in the shipyard, followed by the Suez Canal being shut and the supply chain globally being in an holy mess.”

He said he hoped there would be no further delays, but said that was “probably more hope than actual”.

“The supply chain has slowed down and reached an equilibrium, which is not as good as it used to be,” he said.

“But the problems of having to divert round Africa and rearrange port deliveries, which is what really caused the problem - they are through that now, so there is a rhythm of getting stuff from the east to the west.”

In his update to the Scottish Parliament’s net zero, energy and transport committee, Mr Hobbs said of Isle of Islay: “The vessel is at the most complex phase of the build. Commissioning and outfitting activities are ongoing as the shipyard pushes towards builder’s sea trials.

“We will provide further update to the committee on the date of the sea trials and the planned handover date of the vessel following the successful completion and presentation of the pre-sea trials commissioning and outfitting activities to Cmal, classification society and Maritime and Coastguard Agency.”