SNP ferry scheme suffers fresh blow after rain causes ship to flood
The SNP's disastrous ferry-replacement programme suffered another blow after a vessel that was already six years behind schedule flooded.
The MV Glen Rosa, which is running £100m over budget, filled with rainwater after the funnels were removed at the nationalised Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow.
It is understood that engineers removed the smokestacks to allow the installation of the ferry's engines, with one of the tarpaulins used to cover the holes created coming loose.
Sudden heavy rainfall subsequently saw water pour into the ship, under construction for ferry operator CalMac, before the exposed exhaust vent could be covered again.
Hugh McKenzie, the operations manager at Ferguson Marine, said the Glen Rosa had 'experienced some internal water ingress' during heavy rainfall at the end of last month.
He said: 'The affected area has been dried out and thoroughly inspected. No damage or lasting impact was identified, and the incident has not resulted in any further issues.'
Before the flooding, Mr McKenzie said that the removal of the funnels was a 'critical step' in the installation of the ferry's main and auxiliary engines, and had been 'meticulously planned for as part of the build schedule'.
The latest setback comes less than a month after Ferguson Marine said the Glen Rosa would miss its much-revised delivery date of September by up to nine months.
The shipbuilder said it now expected the vessel to be 'substantially complete' only in the first quarter of next year, with delivery between April and June.
Ferguson Marine also revealed that the cost of the Glen Rosa had jumped by a further £35m, meaning that it and the Glen Sannox will come in at more than £460m including written-off loans – more than four and a half times the original contract price.
Taking into account the £252m spent on keeping ageing vessels in service to cover for the delays, the overall bill is more than £700m, CalMac has stated.
Both new vessels were ordered for CalMac's busiest route, linking the Isle of Arran with the Scottish mainland.
Ferguson Marine is desperate for work after Caledonian Maritime, which procures vessels for CalMac and reports to Scotland's transport minister, awarded a deal for seven smaller electric ferries to a Polish firm.
Despite the failures and upheaval, the SNP last month awarded CalMac a £3.9bn deal to run ferries to the Hebrides for a further decade without the contract being put out to tender.
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