The late-running harbour upgrade that will delay every Glen Sannox ferry passenger by 20 minutes

“Welcome to your brand new ferry and sorry it’s six-and-a-half years late. We hope you’ll like it, because for an indefinite period, your journey will take an extra 20 minutes. That means your sailing will take one third longer than it should because the harbour has still not been fixed.”

That’s unlikely to be how CalMac will greet the first passengers as they board the hugely-delayed Glen Sannox for its scheduled official inaugural sailing to Arran at 6.30am on Monday.

Glen Sannox on sea trials last year | Jane Barlow/PA Wire

However, that has come under threat of cancellation or disruption because of bad weather, after CalMac issued a warning of forecast high winds.

The alert on Sunday afternoon came hours after the operator put Glen Sannox into service for its maiden passenger voyage unannounced for a return sailing between Troon and Brodick - before strong winds forced the suspension of the route for the rest of the day.

All services on the route operated by its secondary vessel, the Alfred catamaran chartered from Orkney Ferries, have already been cancelled on Monday.

The extra journey time is because travellers used to a 55-minute crossing between Ardrossan in North Ayrshire and Brodick are being forced to switch to Troon, 16 miles down the Clyde coast in South Ayrshire, from where sailings take one hour 15 minutes.

Glen Sannox, which should have entered service in mid-2018, is too large to safely use the berths in Ardrossan harbour, whose upgrading to accommodate it has yet to be agreed despite discussions continuing since 2014.

That means drivers to and from Glasgow and the Central Belt using CalMac’s busiest route will have longer to travel. Foot passengers used to the convenience of stepping off the train yards from the ferry terminal in Ardrossan will be faced with more than a mile’s walk from Troon Station or taking a shuttle bus to the port.

Discussions over upgrading Ardrossan harbour started in 2014 | Peel Ports

There will also be only three return sailings a day from Troon compared to five from Ardrossan, where services will be suspended until the end of March when Caledonian Isles, the route’s previous main vessel, is due to return after an unprecedented 14-month repair.

Industry sources have said it may take four years or more for the overhaul of Ardrossan harbour to be completed, which includes realignment of the ferry berths to increase manoeuvring space, and a new terminal building.

The lack of progress also comes in stark contrast to the upgrading of three other west coast ports, which is being completed on time to make way for the arrival of two new CalMac ferries being built in Turkey this spring and summer.

The discussions over Ardrossan have involved Peel Ports, the only private owner of a harbour on the CalMac network, the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency and North Ayrshire Council, who are trying to settle how much each will contribute for the scheme.

Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of the Scottish Government’s ferry and port owning firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal), which is advising Transport Scotland on the project, told MSPs last week that talks over funding were "in the middle of nowhere at the moment".

He told the Scottish Parliament’s net zero, energy and transport committee on Tuesday: “It’s slightly tricky. The tripartite is Transport Scotland providing some money, Peel Ports owning the port and providing some money and North Ayrshire being a partner with Peel Ports providing some money.

“And at the moment, let's just say those amounts of money are ebbing and flowing between the three parties, which makes it very tricky."

Mr Hobbs said there was expected to be an announcement by a Scottish Government minister “in the coming months”. But a revised plan has still not been agreed, nearly 18 months after it was ordered.

The Cmal chief last year accused Peel Ports of a “severe lack of investment” at Ardrossan, which has led to one of the two berths used by CalMac being taken out of action. The other one can’t be used in strong easterly winds, meaning that in those conditions all sailings have to be cancelled.

Mr Hobbs said: “I am very clear that they have definitely not spent enough money on that port and you can see the consequences.”

But Peel Ports “strongly refuted the false allegations made about a lack of investment” and said Ardrossan was being used a “political football”. It has blamed “endless tinkering” by the Scottish Government for the failure to get the upgrading underway.

The company has said things are no further forward than when the plans were initially agreed in 2018 because of repeated changes to its scope. They were put on hold in 2023 pending a further review because costs had increased significantly.

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Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop agreed with MSPs last April that it was a “fair question” as to how the massively-delayed new ferries now faced being held up by an even later-running harbour upgrade.

In September, she said she shared opposition members’ frustration at the situation, and that expected to see the revised business plan “any time now”.

Transport Scotland said the business case review still had not finished, but described it as “substantially complete”.

The official Arran Ferry Committee, which represents passengers, said Troon was a poor second to Ardrossan for the island’s needs. It comes three years after the body called for “urgent action” amid islanders’ “growing frustration” at the slow progress of the project.

Secretary Bill Calderwood said: “The introduction of Glen Sannox is very welcome and will provide a much-needed service for the island. The facilities it will provide should improve the customer experience on the journey and improved reliability.

“It is unfortunate that despite being almost seven years late, Glen Sannox cannot sail from the preferred port of Ardrossan. There are several factors that work against us, with increased travel time limiting service to three returns per day versus five per day from Ardrossan.

“Connectivity is also compromised with the distance to rail services and the requirement to introduce the use of buses to connect with them.

“Arran relies on health and social care resources, education and other specific skills, which are mainly based in the Ardrossan/Saltcoats area, and the continuity and availability of these services may be compromised operating from Troon.

“We need urgent announcements to complement these new vessels, which will commence the upgrades to return the service to Ardrossan as soon as possible.”

Sheila Gilmour, chief executive of VisitArran, said: “We are excited to see Glen Sannox coming into service, and when Caledonian Isles returns it will be great to have her sailing from Ardrossan too.

“Glen Sannox will offer greater resilience to our routes and also to the network as a whole.

“Obviously, work needs to be carried out at Ardrossan harbour to ensure Glen Sannox will be able to use this, as the preferred port for Arran, offering a shorter journey and greater transport connectivity.

“It was heartening to hear First Minister John Swinney's comments last week about ensuring 'islanders have the ferry service they require'. We would hope that those involved in determining the Ardrossan harbour business case do so with some expediency.”

A spokesperson for Ardrossan harbour said: “The ongoing cancellations, delays, and uncertainty are devastating for the people and businesses of Arran and Ardrossan.

“Peel Ports remains fully committed to the original port redevelopment programme and is ready to begin the public procurement process once the ministerial taskforce approves the revised business case.”

North Ayrshire Council said it was for Transport Scotland to comment as the project’s lead partner.

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring the Arran ferry service is fit for the future, and to finding a solution at Ardrossan that can be delivered in a cost-effective way reflecting the needs of all partners involved.

“We acknowledge the call for a commitment to Ardrossan, and absolutely understand the views of the communities in favour of retaining it as the mainland port, and this has been laid out in the business review work accordingly.

“The business case and overall delivery of the project need to be supported by financial packages from each of the main funding partners. It is vital that these packages and legal agreements are clearly defined, affordable and ensure value for the public purse.

“The ongoing discussions and negotiations around the delivery of improvements at the port have been complex, but the business case review is substantially complete and project partners continue to work on this as quickly as practicable.

“The next meeting of the Ardrossan Task Force will be convened soon after the business case and cost review exercise has been submitted to ministers for a decision.”

Isle of Islay after its launch in Turkey in March 2024 | Cmal

Meantime, on CalMac’s Islay route, crucial for the island’s major whisky industry, £30 million of upgrading work is nearing completion on harbours at Kennacraig in Kintyre and Port Askaig on Islay, as well as at neighbouring Colonsay.

This is due to be finished in April ahead of the arrival of Isle of Islay, the first of two ferries for the route being built in Turkey, which is expected to enter service around May.

The project includes dredging, new quay walls, fenders to stop ferries directly hitting the walls and strengthening works.

Port upgrading work at Kennacraig at the Kintyre end of the Islay ferry route | Cmal

The ferries, along with two others earmarked for the Little Minch routes between Harris, North Uist and Skye, have been delayed by supply problems caused by instability in the Middle East and a major Turkish earthquake.

Isle of Islay was originally due to have been completed in October last year, but this has been put back to March.

That will be followed by two weeks for the vessel to sail to Scotland and three to four weeks of trials at the ports before entering passenger service.