CalMac ferries facing further potential delays

The MV Glen Sannox is due to begin sea trials in January

The company building two ferries for operator CalMac has warned they could be delayed for another two months.

Ferguson Marine shipyard's chief executive David Tydeman has written to MSPs warning that they are facing "supplier issues".

This is delaying the commissioning of the vessels' LNG propulsion systems.

The ferries, which are being built at the company's shipyard on the Clyde, are already six years late and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget.

Ferguson shipyard won a contract from a government-owned procurement agency CMAL, to build the vessels for CalMac.

The initial contract in 2016 was for £97m but it is estimated the ferries will now cost £360m when finally completed.

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The warning about the latest setback came in a letter from Mr Tydeman to the Scottish Parliament's net zero, energy and transport committee.

The letter says work is continuing and MSPs will be updated on this in a month's time.

The first of the ferries, the Glen Sannox, is close to completion and is meant to begin sea trials in January. But the letter also reveals that the schedule for moving it to a dry dock for work has slipped back because of bad weather.

The second vessel, named the Glen Rosa, is scheduled to launch on 12 March, 2024.

The ferries are now six years late and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget

Responding to the news. Energy Secretary Neil Gray described his "deep disappointment" at the news from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG).

"I have continued to impress upon the chief executive that any further slippage in the programme would have a considerable impact on the island communities," he said.

"I also met with the chair of FMPG and have impressed on him the need to ensure that every possible mitigation to further delays is in place.

"I reaffirm my commitment that to support FMPG to deliver these lifeline ferries to service our island communities as quickly as possible remains one of my key priorities."

'An unhappy new year'

Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson described the news as "shocking" and said it is islanders who are suffering as a result of the delays.

"Every time we are given a completion date it slips. At some point Neil Gray is going to have to say how much more money he is prepared to put into the yard. So far it has been a blank cheque," he said.

"It is going to an unhappy new year for our island communities as they await the most expensive ferry in Scottish history."

Scottish Labour transport spokesman Alex Rowley said: "It beggars belief that even more delays seem to be on the horizon for these long-awaited ferries.

"The Scottish government must set out a real plan to deliver these ferries without any more delays or cost increases, so island communities can get the service they deserve and Scotland's shipbuilding industry can thrive."