Glen Sannox ferry still needs permanent fix for anchor system problem, MSPs told

The long-awaited Glen Sannox ferry still needs a permanent solution to a problem with its anchor system, with managers at the Ferguson Marine shipyard saying it is “very disappointing” the issue was not spotted earlier.

The ferry was handed over to the government agency CMAL last week after several years of construction delays at the Port Glasgow shipyard.

MSPs have now heard that Glen Sannox will receive a long-term fix to its anchor system in the coming weeks.

Holyrood’s Transport Committee was also told that Ferguson Marine is struggling to find a permanent chief executive officer, with interim CEO John Petticrew’s contract being extended to Easter next year.

Mr Petticrew and others gave evidence to the committee on Tuesday.

Board chairman Andrew Miller said “ten years’ worth of negative publicity around the enterprise” is making it difficult to find a permanent leader for the business, which is now owned by the Scottish Government.

Mr Petticrew said the handover of Glen Sannox to CMAL has been an “emotional” moment for those at the yard.

The most recent delay in the delivery of the vessel was due to a problem with part of the ship’s anchor system called the gypsy, which is used to hoist the anchor chain.

The interim CEO said a “permanent solution will be in there in the coming weeks”, explaining the initial round of sea trials in February had not identified the issue.

He said a “safe” solution which had been signed off by the ship classification society is in place at the minute, though SNP MSP Kevin Stewart pressed him on why there was a problem with such a “simple and basic system”.

Mr Petticrew said: “I was as surprised as anybody at the fact we had the issues that we had.

“It was very, very disappointing that in February, it hadn’t been signed off, or it hadn’t been indicated that we had this issue.”

He also discussed the long-running delays to the installation of the ferry’s liquified natural gas (LNG) fuel system, saying a “minute bubble” in the piping led to considerable remedial work.

Glen Sannox is currently undergoing trials with CMAL before it is handed over to CalMac, with the aim of carrying passengers on the Arran route in January.

The Ferguson Marine officials said they are targeting a handover date of September 2025 for Glen Rosa, the second CalMac vessel being built at the yard, with Mr Petticrew saying he has “about 90%” confidence in this timescale.

He told MSPs the LNG system on Glen Sannox is now “working fabulously” and he wanted to see it installed on Glen Rosa as well.

Mr Petticrew took over after previous chief executive officer David Tydeman was sacked by the shipyard’s board in March this year.

He told the Transport Committee he disagreed with his predecessor’s assertion that the ferries were “complex”, saying many of the shipyard’s problems have arisen due to work starting before the design was finished.

The cost of work to build the two 102-metre-long ferries has more than tripled from the initial price of £97 million, and they are more than six years late.

Ferguson Marine’s chief financial officer David Dishon told the MSPs the replacement cost for Glen Sannox was estimated to be £70 million, though it had to be insured for its full build price of around £150 million.

Ferguson Marine is currently one of six companies bidding for another contract to construct small vessels for CalmMac, with unions saying that securing this work will be key to the shipyard’s future.