Twin newbuild ferries that are delayed and overbudget at a shipyard in Scotland and which are to serve Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) could be worth a “fraction” of the £360m taxpayers have spent on them when they are finally completed, MSPs have been told.

Speaking on the newbuilds to operate on the west coast, Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton had raised concerns as Wellbeing Economy Secretary, Neil Gray updated the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood on the works carried out on the dual-fuelled powered newbuilds Glen Sannox (as above) and Glen Rosa.

The twins, each 102m in length are being built at the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow for CalMac so to bolster its ageing fleet. The new ferries (with a reduced passenger capacity of under 1,000: see story) are set to go into operation on the Ardrossan-Brodick (Isle of Arran) route on the Forth of Clyde. 

Leadship Glen Sannox and newbuild no 105, Glen Rosa which in recent months was given a name, have been beset by issues which have seen multi-year delays and cost overruns. Combined this has put the cost of construction to £360m, compared with the initial £97m price tag when the contract was signed for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and marine diesel fuelled ferries.

STV News has more on the shipyard saga, as the ferries which were to have entered service in 2018.

Twin dual-fuel powered ferries being built at Ferguson Marine shipyard on the Clyde are facing further delays after demands for design changes by the safety regulator.

According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) doors will have to be modified and extra staircases installed on both the M.V. Glen Sannox and the unnamed Hull 802.

Both newbuilds, with around 1,000 passengers each, are to serve CalMac's Ardrossan-Brodick (Arran) route, were to have scheduled sea trials, however they will now be delayed until the first few months of 2024.

The Glen Sannox which was launched in 2018, is due to enter service on CalMac's busiest route, by the end of 2023 while the Hull 802 is not set to take to water with passengers until summer 2024.

Managing director of the Inverclyde shipyard, David Tydeman at Holywood, told the Scottish Parliament's transport committee that he hopes to reach a final agreement with the safety regulator within the next two weeks
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STV News has more on this latest development affecting the timeframe of the newbuild's delivery into service.

Shipyard chief executive David Tydeman told MSPs in a letter on Wednesday that the two ferries, which are five years late, would cost up to £209.6 million to complete compared to the previous estimate of up to £122m.

According to The Scotsman, that would mean a total cost of around £300m, including some £83m previously spent, compared to the original contract of £97m.

A damning report into the fiasco by public spending watchdogs Audit Scotland in March had estimated the final cost would be at least £240m.

Mr Tydeman said the second ferry, known as hull 802, is not now expected to be handed over until the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previously scheduled timescale of between October and December 2023.

It is being built at the Port Glasgow yard for the Skye-Harris-North Uist triangle route.

Mr Tydeman also said in the update to the Scottish Parliament’s net zero, energy and transport committee that there was a “one to two month worst case slippage in final handover” of Glen Sannox, or 801 – the first vessel (for Arran route on the Forth of Clyde). 

More here on the Clydeside shipyard.