Fresh delay hits CalMac ferries being built in Turkey for Scottish waters as labour shortages blamed

A fleet of ferries being built in Turkey have been hit by a further setback, with their completion date pushed back by at least another three months due to labour shortages.

The Isle of Islay - the first of four vessels being built at the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard at Yalova - will now not be completed until at least June.

The MV Isle of Islay, a Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) vessel and the first of two vessels to serve the islands of Jura and Islay, taking to the water for the first time on Saturday at Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Yalova, Turkey. Picture: Cmal/PA Wire

The delay, which was blamed on the impact of “global geopolitical events”, was confirmed in a letter from Scottish Government ferry-buying firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal), sent to a key Scottish Parliament committee on Friday.

The Isle of Islay, which is to operate on the main Islay route from Kennacraig in Kintyre, was launched in March last year. The vessel was originally due to have been finished in October last year before the completion date was pushed back to March and now “no earlier than the end of Q2 in 2025”.

The Cmal letter sent to Holyrood’s net zero, energy and transport committee said: “We are facing serious issues with labour, particularly the availability of specialist commissioning sub-contractors. This continues to set the project and delivery back ... the lack of commissioning engineers is an issue affecting the global shipbuilding industry, and is causing months-long delays in some cases.”

Snow and cold weather had also delayed the docking of the Isle of Islay to check underwater parts and complete painting, the letter said.

In the update, Cmal indicated the second ferry, Loch Indaal, also for the Islay route, would now not be completed until the end of this year, after originally being slated for June. The other two ferries, Lochmor and Claymore, are due to be deployed on the Little Minch routes between Skye, Harris and North Uist.

“We expect these vessels to follow a delivery schedule of six-month intervals from the delivery of MV Isle of Islay,” the letter said. “The contract has anticipated intervals of four months, but it is prudent we take our current understanding of the situation into consideration.”

The setback is an added blow to islanders, in a week where ferry operator CalMac confirmed its ageing fleet had forced extended changes to the company’s west coast network. Three major vessels, including the Caledonian Isles, CalMac’s largest Clyde ferry, are facing longer repairs.

Scottish Conservative shadow transport secretary Sue Webber said of the Turkey setback: “This is yet another blow to Scotland’s betrayed island communities, who are sick to the back teeth of delays to upgrading their decrepit ferry fleet.

“The buck stops with SNP ministers who are responsible for this national scandal. Islanders must wince every time they hear of an update from Cmal or CalMac because it’s always more bad news.

“This latest delay couldn’t be worse timed, with the summer schedule already scaled back because so many ageing ferries require repairs.”

Claire Baker, Scottish Labour's transport spokesperson, said: "This latest delay is understandably frustrating for islanders, but it is also far from a one-off. The SNP have had nearly two decades to plan for the future of Scotland's ferry fleet, yet multiple ferries are delayed and islanders are forced to rely on threadbare services.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson described the delay as “disappointing”.

“Ongoing supply chain issues have impacted the entire shipbuilding industry, as well as related issues affecting the availability of specialist contractors,”

“Shipyards across the world have been impacted by external supply chain and internal resourcing challenges,” the spokesperson said. “Cemre are working actively to outfit, test, trial, survey and complete the vessels as early as possible.

“We continue to make clear our strong expectation to CMAL and CalMac to closely monitor progress on delivery and deployment timescales. Following planned sea trials and commissioning work, a clearer indication on delivery, and that of the three sister vessels, will be provided by CMAL.

“The quality of the workmanship and construction of the vessel is fully meeting CMAL expectations and we look forward to the vessels joining the fleet and serving island communities for years to come.”