Ferguson Marine CalMac Glen Sannox ferry fiasco: Construction failures ‘won’t be repeated’ on sister vessel Glen Rosa

MSPs “encouraged” by standard of finish on ill-fated ferry due to be completed six years late in May

Lessons have been learned from the construction failures on the hugely delayed CalMac ferry Glen Sannox to ensure they are not repeated on sister vessel Glen Rosa, MSPs said on Friday after visiting the Ferguson Marine shipyard.

Members of the Scottish Parliament’s net zero, energy and transport committee were also “encouraged by the standard of finish” on Glen Sannox, which should have been completed in 2018, but said they “only wish we could have been at this stage years ago”, convener Edward Mountain said.

The committee was shown round the Port Glasgow yard by chief executive David Tydeman, whom it will question at a hearing at Holyrood on Tuesday.

Holyrood net zero, energy and transport committee convener Edward Mountain, left, being shown round Glen Sannox by Ferguson Marine chief executive David Tydeman on February 23. (Photo by Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament)

Glen Sannox is due to be finally finished in May, according to the Scottish Government. But the vessel will not be in service on the main Arran route to Brodick until at least late July following two months of testing by CalMac.

Mr Mountain said “the end is in sight” for the ferry’s completion. However, he described the in-service date as an “optimistic target”. Glen Rosa is due to be launched in two months’ time and completed in May next year.

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The two vessels, which will be the second largest in the west coast operator’s fleet, are also at least three times over their original £97 million budget.

Many of the problems have been blamed on past managements of the yard, which was taken over by the Scottish Government five years ago to prevent its collapse. However, the latest delays have been over the vessels’ novel dual-fuel propulsion system, which uses diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Mr Mountain, a Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP, said: “We came today to gain clarity on the prospects of [hull] 801 [Glen Sannox] and 802 [Glen Rosa] being ready to meet their current delivery dates without further delay or further expense.

"Notification of delays due to the commissioning of the LNG propulsion systems and amendments required to safety exits caused concern about the governance and oversight being applied to the delivery of the vessels.

“We have been encouraged by the standard of finish we have seen on Glen Sannox and only wish we could have been at this stage years ago. It is clear to us that lessons of the failures to the construction of Glen Sannox have been learnt to ensure that they are not repeated on Glen Rosa.”

Mr Mountain said a further CalMac contract to build smaller ferries would help secure the yard’s future. The yard has successfully built similar vessels for CalMac.

He said he “entirely agreed” with Scottish Government ferry owning firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, which said it would “absolutely trust” Ferguson Marine with such an order.

Mr Mountain said: “What is clear is that the yard needs work to give it a future and I’m sure the committee will be looking closely at the award of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme.

"If this was awarded to the yard, we were told this could help secure its future and reduce the on-going delays and frustrations that islanders are facing.

“We, along with all islanders, want the ferries to set sail as soon as possible as a much-needed resource for island communities who have borne the brunt of these delays for far too long.”