Glen Sannox gets green light to carry passengers

Glen Sannox is expected to carry its first passengers to Arran in January

The new CalMac ferry being built at the nationalised Ferguson shipyard has been approved to carry passengers.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Lloyds Register have now issued the final regulatory certificates for MV Glen Sannox, the shipyard confirmed.

A formal handover is now expected imminently, but CalMac will need several weeks of crew familiarisation trials before the ship enters service on its Arran route.

The dual-fuel ship was originally due for delivery in May 2018, but the build has been hit by design struggles and disputes over rising costs.

The interim chief executive of Ferguson Marine, John Petticrew, gave the latest update in a letter to MSPs on Holyrood's net zero, energy and transport committee.

He wrote: "We are delighted to share that MV Glen Sannox has now obtained full regulatory approval, including its passenger certification.

"Subject to the completion of the required legal and contractual processes, the vessel will be officially transferred to its new owners, CMAL.

"Control of the vessel will then be handed to CalMac who require six-and-a-half weeks for operational readiness and annual recertification activities."

Glen Sannox is the second largest vessel ever built for CalMac, and the first UK-built ferry capable of running on liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Nicola Sturgeon announced Ferguson's as the preferred bidder to build the two ferries in August 2015

The contracts for Glen Sannox and an identical ship, Glen Rosa, were awarded in 2015, a year after Ferguson's, the last commercial shipyard on the Clyde, was rescued from administration by businessman Jim McColl.

But the build soon ran into trouble, with the yard's new management blaming a poorly- developed specification and interference by CMAL, the government owned company which procures ships for the CalMac fleet.

CMAL denied that, claiming "catastrophic" failures and mistakes by the contractor were the cause of the problems.

The ensuing deadlock over claims for rising costs saw the firm collapse and it was subsequently nationalised, but the project faced more delays and cost increases.

The original contract price for both ships was £97m, but the total costs will be well in excess of £400m and Glen Sannox will be delivered more than six years late.

Work on the second ferry Glen Rosa is proceeding more smoothly, and the ship is expected to be delivered next September.

Glen Sannox is currently moored at the quayside at Inchgreen, about a mile down river from Ferguson shipyard

Glen Sannox is said to have performed well in recent sea trials, although the tests also highlighted a number of issues which required further work before regulators would sign off the ship.

When it is handed over, the ship will be the first new large vessel to enter the CalMac fleet since 2015.

The ferry operator is currently facing a challenge to maintain a winter timetable, with one of its major vessels, MV Caledonian Isles, possibly out of action until March.

Another large ship, the 39-year-old MV Hebridean Isles, was retired at the weekend as its regulatory certificates are expiring and it is not feasible to extend its life any longer.

Services to Arran are currently being maintained by another Ferguson-built vessel, the 41-year-old MV Isle of Arran - nicknamed the "Auld Trooper" - as well as a chartered catamaran.