THE latest in a long series of delays to a late and over-budget ferry is “a matter of great regret," John Swinney has said.
The Glen Sannox and its sister ship the Glen Rosa are being built at the publicly owned Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow, but have faced years of issues.
On Thursday, the yard’s interim chief executive John Petticrew said it would not be able to meet the previously announced target of September 30, with a fuel issue pushing the date back by around two weeks.
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) required to run the ferries requires a cooling system to keep it around minus 160C, but the yard has had trouble reaching the required temperature, leading to delays.
The two vessels will eventually serve the west coast of Scotland when they enter service after delivery to CalMac, but were due to be completed in 2018 at a cost of just £97 million.
Six years and hundreds of millions of pounds later, the ferries are yet to be handed over.
Speaking to the PA news agency on Friday, Swinney said: “There’s a technical issue that Ferguson Marine have identified about the Glen Sannox, which they believe will take a couple of weeks to resolve, delaying the handover of the vessel from the end of September to the middle of October.
“Obviously, that is unwelcome, but I have been assured the company is focused on making sure it meets this deadline.”
Pushed on what ministers can do to ensure there is no further slippage at the nationalised yard, the First Minister said: “The vessels are being built by Ferguson Marine, it’s Ferguson Marine’s responsibility to deliver those vessels.
“It’s obviously a matter of great regret that there has been a further delay and the company has got to be focused on ensuring it delivers the vessels within the time frame that’s been promised, which is vital for islanders.
“Over the course of the next two years we will, of course, boost the ferry fleet by six new vessels as a consequence of decisions taken by the Government.”
