Years late CalMac ferry delayed for another six months as costs soar by £35m

The second Ferguson Marine ferry, millions over budget and years late, has been delayed for at least another six months.

The Glen Rosa remains outstanding as the total cost of both it, and the Glen Sannox, approaches £460m – more than four times the initial £97m figure.

Both ferries, due to serve Arran, were originally to be launched in 2018 but have faced years of delays.

After the Glen Sannox was finally launched last year, the Glen Rosa was expected to be delivered in September 2025, but the nationalised shipyard announced on Tuesday that the vessel won’t be ready until at least April 2026.

The total estimated cost has also increased by £35m – including a £12.5m contingency – to £185m.

It comes after reports that parts of the ferry were removed for use on the Glen Sannox.

Appearing before a Scottish Parliament committee in February, then-interim chief executive of Ferguson Marine John Petticrew said the yard was doing “a bottoms up on the Glen Rosa, including all the lessons learned that we got at the tail end of the Glen Sannox”.

The delay comes in the first weeks for new CEO Graeme Thomson.

“This is not the announcement we wanted to be making at this stage and cannot overstate our understanding of the importance of providing realistic handover schedules to support CalMac to provide a more reliable and robust service to the communities it serves,” he said.

“No one wants to see the swift delivery of MV Glen Rosa more than Ferguson Marine and we are committed to working hard to ensure the vessel is delivered within this window. 

“We apologise unreservedly to islanders for this additional delay and want to assure everyone that we are working extremely hard to deliver a quality vessel that showcases the skill and experience of Clydebuilt ships. Once delivered, MV Glen Rosa will be transformative for our island communities.”