Crack found in hull of new Glen Sannox ferry

The Glen Sannox only made its first sailing earlier this year

The new Glen Sannox ferry has been removed from service because of a crack in the ship's hull, according to the ferry operator CalMac.

The brand new vessel only began operating in January after being delivered almost seven years late and costing more than four times the original contract price.

The ship had been operating since January between Troon in South Ayrshire and Brodick in the Isle of Arran.

The 13:00 and 17:20 departures from Brodick were cancelled as was the 15:10 from Troon due to the fault.

The boat is now tied up at Brodick.

CalMac said reports that the ferry had hit the harbour or that water was leaking into the car deck were "categorically untrue".

However, the ferry operator advised that a "very small amount of water" had entered part of the rear of the ship near the steering gear.

A statement from the ferry operator said: "MV Glen Sannox has been removed from service due to a crack on a weld seam on the vessel's hull which is close to the waterline.

"This requires the support of a dive team to assess, and the earliest this could be arranged for is Saturday morning. A third-party team will attend tomorrow to carry out a full assessment.

"Following this, we will be able to provide more information on the issue and, if required, repairs and service impact.

"It does mean all MV Glen Sannox sailings on Saturday 15 March have been cancelled."

They added: "We apologise for the disruption, and our port teams and customer engagement centre will be working hard to contact affected customers."

CalMac said MV Glen Sannox had been removed from service due to a crack on a weld seam on the vessel's hull which is close to the waterline

The Glen Sannox has space for 127 cars and 852 passengers.

CalMac has said another ferry, the MV Alfred, will make an extra journey to take some of the passengers who were booked onto the cancelled sailings.

Some of the MV Alfred's sailing times have been amended to accommodate the extra crossing.

The operator said all passengers should have a booking prior to arriving in Troon, adding that those who had not booked could not be guaranteed travel.

Sailings on Saturday have also been cancelled.

A decision about Sunday's sailings will be taken on Saturday, the operator said in a statement on its website.

A shuttle service will operate between Lochranza in Arran and Claonaig in the Kintyre peninsula.

The order for Glen Sannox and another ship were placed with the Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow nearly a decade ago.

But disputes over the design and claims for extra costs saw the shipyard fall into administration, and then be nationalised in 2019.

The ships have ended up costing more than four times the £97m contract price.

The Glen Sannox will stay in the dock until investigations into the crack in the hull are concluded

A Scottish government agency owns the ferries, leading to criticism of the SNP from opposition parties.

Scottish Conservative transport spokeswoman Sue Webber MSP said: "This news will come as a hammer blow for ferry passengers, who have been betrayed at every turn by this incompetent SNP government.

"After waiting nearly seven years for this massively overbudget vessel, island communities will be dismayed that it's broken down within weeks of its launch.

"The SNP's failure to provide a viable ferry network has left passengers stranded once again."

Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie MSP said: "This has been a never-ending nightmare for this SNP commissioned ferry contract.

"Islanders, workers and taxpayers have had to suffer from this shambles."

Embarrassing for CalMac

It's barely two months since Glen Sannox entered service, writes BBC Scotland's transport correspondent David Henderson.

The vessel seems to have performed well in that time, coping with winter conditions on the Firth of Clyde.

But today's problem will be embarrassing for CalMac - and of concern to them.

Embarrassing, because it doesn't look good for any new ferry to apparently spring a leak, however small.

And it's of concern because for much of the last decade, Glen Sannox was tied up alongside the pier at the Ferguson shipyard, going nowhere, and open to the elements.

CalMac managers may now be wondering - what might that have done to the ferry?