Second delay to a brand new CalMac ferry announced in 24 hours with further Loch Indaal setback

A second brand new CalMac ferry has suffered a further delivery delay in less than 24 hours with Loch Indaal’s voyage from its Turkish shipyard postponed until mid November.

The news on Friday comes hard on the heels of Glen Rosa’s completion by Ferguson Marine on the Clyde being put back two months to February.

Loch Indaal was originally due to be completed in April last year | Cmal

The new setback for Loch Indaal, which is already 18 months behind schedule, also increases the risk of its voyage to Scotland being disrupted by bad weather as winter approaches.

Sister vessel Isle of Islay took a month to complete the 3,000-mile journey in February - more than twice as long as expected - which included being stormbound several times en route.

Loch Indaal is due to start operating between Kennacraig in Kintyre and Port Askaig in Islay some four to six weeks after arriving in Scotland, following crew training.

Previous delays to completion of the two vessels, and two others still under construction, were caused by a range of factors including supply problems due to the war in Ukraine and unrest in the Middle East.

Scottish Government-owned ferry buying firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal) said a shortage of engineers to make final checks on Loch Indaal would delay its departure from the Cemre yard in Yalova.

Chief executive Kevin Hobbs said delivery of the vessel by the end of October had previously been “achievable” but “the final activities were tightly sequenced and any delay in approvals, specialist engineer attendance, testing or certification could affect delivery.”

In an update to the Scottish Parliament’s transport committee, he wrote: “The shipyard has experienced challenges securing the availability of specialist engineers from original equipment manufacturers, which will extend delivery beyond the end of October.

“While this is disappointing, the matter is outside the shipyard’s control. Good progress continues to be made, and the shipyard is actively addressing the items raised during the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) visit [last week].

“The MCA are scheduled to return to the shipyard during the week commencing November 9, when we anticipate receiving final flag state approval.

“This will be followed by a seven to ten-day period to prepare the vessel for its voyage to Scotland.”

Ministers said on Thursday they had agreed to the Glen Rosa delay so new propellers could be fitted to fix a vibration problem, even though sister CalMac vessel Glen Sannox is operating without its propellers being replaced.

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat convener of the transport committee, said: “Islanders must think that there is no ferry that can be built on time.

"From delayed work to the wrong propellers to accessing engineers, there are endless failures which mean that islanders must endure broken down ferries and disrupted services for even longer.

" When the Transport Secretary appears before the committee [next month] he will need to explain how he will bring order to this chaos.“

A CalMac spokesperson said: “A voyage plan is in place for the vessel’s return to Scotland and this includes appropriate mitigation measures and contingency arrangements, including identified ports of refuge. A weather assessment will be undertaken prior to departure, with weather and sea conditions monitored throughout the passage to ensure a safe passage.”