SNP scandal ferry removed from service after only two months thanks to crack in hull
One of the vessels at the centre of the SNP ferries scandal has been removed from service only two months after it started carrying passengers because of a crack in its hull.
The Glen Sannox only began operating in January. It was delivered almost seven years late and cost more than four times the original contract price.
CalMac, a ferry operator, was forced to cancel its sailings from Brodick on the Isle of Arran on Friday afternoon after it was found that a 'very small amount of water' was entering the rear of the vessel.
The firm said a crack had been discovered on a weld seam on the ferry's hull, close to the waterline. The ship, which has capacity for 127 cars and 852 passengers, was tied up at Brodick.
The Scottish Tories said the fault was 'a hammer blow for ferry passengers, who have been betrayed at every turn by this incompetent SNP Government'.
It prompted more questions about the disastrous commissioning of the vessel and its sister ship, Glen Rosa, which were due to enter service in 2018.
A litany of problems, partly caused by the complexity of the fuel system, have led to years of delays. The total costs of the ferries have surged from £97 million to more than £400 million.
SNP ministers handed the contract to the Ferguson Marine shipyard, which was then owned by a pro-independence businessman in 2015, despite ferry chiefs expressing 'severe misgivings' about the company's ability to build the vessels.
Nicola Sturgeon launched the Glen Sannox, which came off the yard's slipway, amid a blaze of publicity in November 2017.
But the vessel was far from finished. The windows on the bridge were actually squares of black paint, while the funnels were made of plywood. In 2019 the Scottish Government nationalised Ferguson Marine to prevent it collapsing.
Meanwhile, Scotland's island communities were forced to deal with an ageing ferry fleet that suffered regular breakdowns and cancellations. They complained the unreliable service was threatening tourism, businesses and their day-to-day life.
Sannox sailings cancelled
The Glen Sannox finally started timetabled sailing carrying passengers between Troon and Brodick on Jan 13. The Glen Rosa was scheduled to be delivered in September, but Ferguson Marine chiefs have admitted further delays are possible.
It emerged on Thursday that John Petticrew, the shipyard's interim chief executive, had resigned for personal reasons.
A statement from CalMac said: 'MV Glen Sannox has been removed from service due to a crack on a weld seam on the vessel's hull which is close to the waterline.
'This requires the support of a dive team to assess, and the earliest this could be arranged for is Saturday morning. A third-party team will attend tomorrow to carry out a full assessment.
'Following this, we will be able to provide more information on the issue and, if required, repairs and service impact. It does mean all MV Glen Sannox sailings on Saturday March 15 have been cancelled.'
The operator apologised for the disruption and another ferry, the MV Alfred, will make an extra journey to take some of the passengers who had booked the cancelled trips.
Islanders 'dismayed'
But Sue Webber, the Scottish Tories' shadow transport secretary, said: 'This news will come as a hammer blow for ferry passengers, who have been betrayed at every turn by this incompetent SNP government.
'After waiting nearly seven years for this massively over-budget vessel, island communities will be dismayed that it's broken down within weeks of its launch. The SNP's failure to provide a viable ferry network has left passengers stranded once again.'
Willie Rennie, a Liberal Democrat MSP, said: 'From painted-in windows to short cables and now a cracked hull, this has been a never-ending nightmare for this SNP-commissioned ferry contract. Islanders, workers and taxpayers have had to suffer from this shambles.'
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