Glen Sannox ferry officially sets sail six years late and millions of pounds overbudget

Key Points

Glen Sannox officially enters service on Monday morning
The ferry transported its first paying passengers on a trial run between Troon and Arran on Sunday
The building of the vessel and its sister ferry, the Glen Rosa, has been a long-running scandal in Scotland
The original contract price for both ships was £97m, but the total costs are well in excess of £400m
The Glen Sannox will operate out of Troon for the first few years while the port at Ardrossan is reconfigured

A six-year-late and millions overbudget ferry finally entered official service on Monday morning.

Built at the beleaguered Ferguson Marine shipyard, the Glen Sannox departed from Troon in South Ayrshire at approximately 6.52am en route to Brodick on the Isle of Arran.

The vessel transported its first paying passengers on Sunday when it carried out a test run, taking over a scheduled return journey from the catamaran MV Alfred.

@stvnews
A six-year-late and millions overbudget ferry finally entered official service on Monday morning. Built at the beleaguered Ferguson Marine shipyard, the Glen Sannox departed from Troon in South Ayrshire at approximately 6.52am en route to Brodick on the Isle of Arran. The vessel transported its first paying passengers on Sunday when it carried out a test run, taking over a scheduled return journey from the catamaran MV Alfred. Passengers at Troon Port travelling to Arran believed they would be boarding the Alfred, but instead they unwittingly became the first to board the long-awaited MV Glen Sannox. The ferry transported its first paying passengers on a trial run between Troon and Arran on Sunday The building of the vessel and its sister ferry, the Glen Rosa, has been a long-running scandal in Scotland The original contract price for both ships was £97m, but the total costs are well in excess of £400m The Glen Sannox will operate out of Troon for the first few years while the port at Ardrossan is reconfigured A six-year-late and millions overbudget ferry finally entered official service on Monday morning. Built at the beleaguered Ferguson Marine shipyard, the Glen Sannox departed from Troon in South Ayrshire at approximately 6.52am en route to Brodick on the Isle of Arran. The vessel transported its first paying passengers on Sunday when it carried out a test run, taking over a scheduled return journey from the catamaran MV Alfred. Passengers at Troon Port travelling to Arran believed they would be boarding the Alfred, but instead they unwittingly became the first to board the long-awaited MV Glen Sannox. The ferry’s first official sailing departed Troon on Monday morning despite weather warnings and disruption on other CalMac routes. #ferry #news #stvnews #scotland #transport ansport
♬ original sound – STV News

Passengers at Troon Port travelling to Arran believed they would be boarding the Alfred, but instead they unwittingly became the first to board the long-awaited MV Glen Sannox.

The ferry’s first official sailing departed Troon on Monday morning despite weather warnings and disruption on other CalMac routes.

On Sunday, CalMac confirmed that two outstanding issues on the vessel had been resolved ahead of Monday’s official launch.

The sewage system has now been “fully optimised” for passenger travel, while a replacement valve on the starboard mezz deck fitted.

🔶AMBER #Troon #Brodick 13Jan Due to forecast strong winds, the following sailings operated by MV Glen Sannox are liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice:
Depart Troon – 06:30
Depart Brodick – 08:40 (2)
— CalMac Service Info (@CalMac_Updates) January 13, 2025

CalMac CEO Duncan Mackison said: “Operating a test run with MV Glen Sannox gave the crew a fantastic opportunity to stress test the vessel and ensure the experience people have aboard is optimal before she formally enters service.”

“A massive effort has gone into getting MV Glen Sannox to this stage, and everyone at CalMac is excited to have her in the fleet and serving Arran.”

The building of the Glen Sannox and its sister ferry, the Glen Rosa, has been a long-running scandal in Scotland, with politicians from all sides criticising the extensive delays and cost overruns.

Insight

New ferry is a big moment for Arran but repairing reputational damage will take time

Ewan Petrie

The original contract price for both ships was £97m, but the total costs are well in excess of £400m and the Glen Sannox has been delivered six-and-a-half years late.

The Glen Sannox departed Troon at 6.30am on Monday morning on its maiden voyage with passengers.

Meanwhile, the Glen Rosa is due to be handed over to CalMac in September.

How did we get here?

Ferguson Marine was awarded the contract for the Glen Sannox and its sister ship in 2015. The initial budget was £97m and it was due for delivery in 2018.
The company missed that deadline and the budget ballooned as design flaws emerged and the yard struggled to keep afloat.
In 2019, the Scottish Government stepped in to save the struggling manufacturer, bailing them out.
At the official launch last November, the ship was still a shell and had fake windows.
Today, it’s on the open water, at a cost of almost £400m.

A look on board the Glen Sannox

The Glen Sannox will operate out of Troon for the first few years while the port at Ardrossan is reconfigured.

It was handed over by the Ferguson Marine shipyard last November and underwent several weeks of crew familiarisation trials before entering service on Monday.

In 2019, the Scottish Government rescued Ferguson Marine from administration, discovering issues with the design and build of the ships that repeatedly pushed their delivery dates back.

It ignited a political firestorm that sparked two parliamentary inquiries and one of the longest-running scandals since devolution.

Glasgow & West

Inside the Glen Sannox: First pictures on board long-delayed ferry

The vessel has been handed over by the Ferguson Marine shipyard – six years later than planned, and millions and millions of pounds over budget.

Last week, First Minister John Swinney said sorry to islanders impacted by delays in building the two new ferries.

He said: “These ferries should have been built a great deal faster than they were built, and I apologise unreservedly to island communities for the delays in those two ferries.”

As well as the two ferries being built by Ferguson Marine, a further four new vessels for CalMac are being constructed in Turkey – although Swinney said “unfortunately because of global supply chain issues, the first of those ferries is taking a bit longer than we would have ideally liked”.

But he insisted: “We are investing in the ferry fleet to make sure that island communities are well supported, and they can be assured of the commitment of the Scottish Government to make sure that that is the case.”