THE first of four new CalMac ferries being built in Turkey will be delivered late.
MV Isle of Islay was due to be handed over from the Cemre shipyard in the middle of this October but is now expected to be a “couple of months” late.
Events including Houthi rebel incursions in the Red Sea and the war in Ukraine have been blamed by the yard for the delay.
In a letter to Holyrood’s transport committee, CMAL chief executive Kevin Hobbs said it was impossible as yet to give an exact date for when the ferry would be delivered.
He said that the delivery date would depend on “how smoothly” ongoing commissioning and outfitting work went.
Hobbs said: “Global supply chain events have affected the schedule for the supply and delivery of materials and equipment, which has been challenging for all new build shipbuilding contracts, the incursion in the Red Sea means that much of the main equipment is routing around the Horn of Africa adding many weeks to journey times.
“There have been major challenges the yard has had to overcome in the programme; the war in Ukraine affecting the supply of steel, the devastating earthquake in southeastern Türkiye, which led to a serious loss of manpower in the shipyard, with many of the workers in the yard and subcontractors travelling to the region to assist in the rescue operations.”
It comes at a difficult time for the state-owned ferry operator, with two of its 10 major vessels currently out of action and another heading for retirement.
MV Isle of Islay – which will serve the route linking the mainland with Islay – is the first of the new fleet being built in Turkey.
MV Loch Indaal is expected to follow next year and another two are on the order books for Cemre, based on the shore of the Sea of Marmara.
CalMac chief executive Duncan Mackison said: “Unfortunately, global supply chain issues are outwith every agency’s control and have caused a slight delay to what has otherwise been a faultless process.
“CalMac crew for the new vessel are on-site at the shipyard to support the final stages of the build, and we stand ready to take delivery of MV Isle of Islay as soon as she is ready.”
The main Arran ferry Caledonian Isles has been out of service since February. It is undergoing repair work in Merseyside which has been hit with complications, pushing back its return possibly until next month.
The Lord of the Isles ferry, which serves South Uist, is out of action following a fire on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old Hebridean Isles vessel is due to be taken out of service in November, with refurbishment work judged to be too expensive and time-consuming to be worthwhile.
Elsewhere, the Glen Sannox is also facing delays and will not be handed over until the end of next month because of problems with its liquid natural gas propulsion system.
