Glen Sannox shortly after launching at Port Glasgow
History
NameGlen Sannox[1]
NamesakeMV Glen Sannox (1957) and Glen Sannox on the Isle of Arran
OperatorCaledonian MacBrayne
Port of registryGlasgow
RouteArdrossan–Brodick
BuilderFerguson Marine
Cost£97 million original contract for two ferries; £340 million as of September 2022
Yard number801
Laid down17 February 2017
Launched21 November 2017
Christenedby Nicola Sturgeon
IdentificationIMO number: 9794513
StatusFitting out
General characteristics
Tonnage1,273 DWT[2]
Length102.4 m (335 ft 11 in)[2]
Beam17 m (55 ft 9 in)[2]
Draught3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)[2]
Installed power2 × Wärtsilä 34DF diesels[3]
Propulsion
Speed14.5 kn (26.85 km/h)[2]
Capacity
  • 1,000 passengers, 127 cars or 16 HGVs (planned)[1]
  • 852 passengers (actual)[4]
MV Glen Sannox in March 2023, being towed back from Garvel drydock.

MV Glen Sannox is a dual-fuel car and passenger ferry currently under construction at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow for Caledonian MacBrayne, planned to serve the Ardrossan to Brodick crossing. Initially expected to enter service in summer 2018 at a cost of £97 million, as of December 2023 the ship remains under construction and has been the subject of an ongoing political scandal known as the "ferry fiasco" owing to increased costs and lengthy delays.[5][6][7]

The ferry was originally expected to enter service early in 2018.[1] Construction delays led to her launch being pushed back to November 2017, with the ship then expected to begin operation in winter 2018/19.[8] After further delays, handover was expected between March and May 2023—five years late.[9][10] On 16 March 2023, it was reported that further delays have pushed the vessel's entry into service to Autumn of 2023;[11] in August 2023, a further delay to the first quarter of 2024 was announced.[12]

History

See also Ferry fiasco for the political controversies surrounding the construction of these units.

Glen Sannox is to be the first of two Scottish ferries capable of operating on either marine diesel oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG), with benefits of a marked reduction in carbon dioxide, sulphur and nitrous oxide emissions.[1] Her name was chosen from a shortlist by public ballot and recalls an earlier Arran ferry.[13]

The first steel was cut on 7 April 2016 and Glen Sannox was launched on 21 November 2017 by the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon,[14][15] It has been reported that the vessel's bulbous bow was not fit for purpose at the time of the launch, and only fitted to be able to claim "milestone payments" from the Scottish Government.[16] The bridge windows were painted on,[15] and the funnels were not operational, but only for show for the launch.[16]

In August 2018, new Cabinet Secretary for Transport Michael Matheson said it had been confirmed that the ship was to be delivered in June 2019, followed by two months of crew familiarisation and sea trials.[17] Further dispute over the contract overrun led to the shipyard going into administration and being nationalised by the Scottish Government.[18][19]

A report produced after nationalisation indicated that Glen Sannox should be handed over to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) in the last quarter of 2021 and that completing the two ferries was likely to increase the total cost to over £207 million.[20] In April 2020, Ferguson Marine contracted with International Contract Engineering, a marine design consultant, to revise the design and outfitting of Glen Sannox in advance of her eventual delivery.[21]

MV Glen Sannox back at Ferguson Marine after drydock work in 2020

On 10 August 2020, tugs moved Glen Sannox to the Garvel dry dock in Greenock for remedial work including replacement of the bulbous bow, paintwork repair and removal of marine growth.[22] After additional work, the ship returned to the Fergusons shipyard in Port Glasgow on 9 September 2020.[23]

In October 2022, it was announced that Glen Sannox would initially operate only on marine diesel oil, as vacuum sensors required for the LNG system were not available.[24]

Further delays to both ferries and increasing costs of £250 million, subsequently rising to £340 million by September 2022, have resulted in controversy surrounding the contract and the lack of transparency in the decision-making process.[25][26] The Scottish Government announced that key documents relating to the decision-making process had gone missing.[27]

MV Glen Sannox in Garvel drydock in March 2023

In September 2023, a failed safety audit meant that MV Glen Sannox was further delayed: among other issues, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) insisted on the installation of additional staircases as a condition of approving a safety audit. The work means that planned sea trials of the Glen Sannox have been delayed until the first quarter of 2024, raising doubts over whether the ship will be available for the start of the 2024 summer season.[28] Meeting MCA safety regulations ultimately meant that the passenger capacity of both ferries had to be cut from a planned 1,000 to 852.[4]

Service

Glen Sannox is being built for the Ardrossan to Brodick crossing. She was originally intended to serve as a running mate to MV Caledonian Isles on the Ardrossan–Brodick and the Ardrossan–Campbeltown crossings.[5][6] In May 2023, it was announced that Glen Sannox's sister vessel, MV Glen Rosa, would also serve the Arran route.[29] However, the two new Arran ferries will initially be operating between Troon and Brodick for the first two or three years of their career, due to the planned upgrade works for Ardrossan harbour.[30]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited- announces Scottish shipbuilder as preferred tenderer for two large ferries contract". CMAL. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Presentation to Arran ferry Committee" (PPT). CMAL. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Calmac picks Wärtsilä for two LNG ferries". Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 Williams, Martin (3 October 2023). "Scots fiasco ferries have to be cut in size for safety reasons". The Herald.
  5. 1 2 "Costs double on delayed CalMac ferry contract". BBC News. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Ferguson Marine update". Scottish Government. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Completion of CalMac ferries delayed six months". BBC News. 25 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "Ferry MV Glen Sannox ready for launch at Port Glasgow yard". Greenock Telegraph. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  9. ↑ Dalton, Alastair (23 March 2022). "Ferguson Marine ferries for CalMac delayed by another eight months to 2023". The Scotsman.
  10. ↑ Daisley, Stephen (24 March 2022). "The SNP's ferry mess". The Spectator.
  11. ↑ "Delays to Calmac ferries at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow". Greenock Telegraph. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "New CalMac ferries delay after safety changes ordered". BBC News. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "CMAL announces name of first LNG ferry". CMAL. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "In Pictures -- Launch Of Ferry Glen Sannox At Port Glasgow". Inverclyde Now. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  15. 1 2 Swindon, Peter (8 September 2019). "First Minister launched new Arran ferry at Ferguson shipyard with painted-on 'windows'". Sunday Post. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  16. 1 2 Grossman, David (6 August 2021). "Scotland's Ferry Fiasco: What went wrong?". BBC Newsnight. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  17. ↑ Fisher, Paul (15 August 2018). "New Arran Ferry set to launch next June - government confirms". Ardrossan Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  18. ↑ Fraser, Douglas (18 August 2019). "Shipyard forecast: Sunshine becoming misty". BBC News. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  19. ↑ Fraser, Douglas (24 June 2021). "Delivery date for overdue ferries slips again". BBC News. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  20. ↑ Ferguson Marine: report on cost and programme for vessels 801 and 802, Scottish Government, 9 December 2019, retrieved 23 December 2019
  21. ↑ "Charting a New Course for Scottish Ferry Project". The Motorship. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  22. ↑ "Clyde Shipping - Dry Dock Work For MV Glen Sannox Is 'Major Step' Forward". Inverclyde Now. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "Ferry Returns To Shipyard After Dry Dock Work". Inverclyde Now. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  24. ↑ "New fault means environmentally friendly Scots fiasco ferry cannot initially run green". The Herald. 29 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  25. ↑ "Nicola Sturgeon: Buck stops with me over ferry contract row". BBC News. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  26. ↑ "Cost to taxpayer of Scotland's ferry fiasco soars to nearly £340m". HeraldScotland.
  27. ↑ Bol, David (22 April 2022). "Sturgeon denies 'cover-up' over missing key ferries contract document". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  28. ↑ "Concern over whether Scots ferry fiasco vessel will set sail after safety audit fail". The Herald. 12 September 2023.
  29. ↑ "Competition Launched to Name Dual Fuel Ferry". Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL). 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  30. ↑ "Ardrossan Harbour redevelopment". North Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
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