Latest news with #CalMac
The Herald Scotland
21 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Ferry fiasco vessel hits the water for the first time
MV Glen Rosa was pulled by the tugboat CMS Wrestler. The dual-fuel ferry is being built for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) to serve the Arran route for Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac). Port Glasgow firm [[Ferguson Marine]] announced last month that the second of the controversial ferries was on track to be delivered to [[CalMac]] next year. (Image: George Munro) MV Glen Rosa recently had funnel tops installed before moving to the dry dock. Contractors have also been on site at Ferguson's carrying out preliminary works for the ferry's mezzanine deck wire installation next month. The Ferguson CEO Graeme Thomson recently updated the Scottish Parliament's Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. He informed the committee that MV Glen Rosa was heading for the dry dock as part of the final stages of construction. READ MORE: Members of the committee are set to visit Ferguson Marine in the future to see the progress of MV Glen Rosa for themselves. The first of the new ferries MV Glen Sannox officially began taking passengers in January this year. Due to ongoing investigations with MV Caledonian Isles, [[CalMac]] previously announced there is no scheduled service to Arran operating from Ardrossan and Brodick between July 25 and September 7 . MV Glen Sannox and MV Alfred will operate Troon-Brodick until Sunday, September 7.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Luxury cruise ship's owners reveal expansion of their Greenock programme
A FORMER CalMac ferry that's become a familiar sight in Greenock since being converted to a luxury cruise ship more than 35 years ago is set to offer more sailings on the Clyde next year. The Hebridean Princess's 2026 cruise programme was published on Friday – and includes a series of 'Greenock to Greenock' cruises to start her programme for the year. The ship – built in 1964 for David MacBrayne as the car ferry MV Columba – is offering only one cruise from Greenock this year, an end-of-season tour of the Clyde and its sea lochs in early November. LATEST HEADLINES: Neil Canney murder trial: Accused's lawyer says CCTV evidence 'was rotten' College spend 'millions of pounds' on repairs to Greenock campus after new-build axed PICTURES: Picnic in the park hailed huge success for Port Glasgow New Parish Church Place in the Sun presenter Jean Johansson shows her support for refugee campaign Popular Greenock attraction alters opening hours after cruise ship calls change But the vessel's 2026 sailing schedule starts with four back-to-back Clyde cruises in March next year, before she sails to Oban, her home port for her main spring and summer season. Prices for two travellers for a four-night Clyde cruise on the luxury vessel – which was chartered by the Queen for family holidays in 2006 and 2010 – start at £2,160. The vessel has been operated by Hebridean Island Cruises, based in Skipton, North Yorkshire, since 1989, and is usually laid up each winter in the James Watt Dock. The Hebridean Princess's programme of Greenock cruises will be expanded in 2026. (Image: George Munro) The ship was caught up in tragedy in February 2023 when the Clyde Marine Services tug Biter sank off the East India Harbour as it was assisting the Hebridean Princess towards the James Watt Dock. Both the tug's crew, 65-year-old [[Greenock]] man George Taft and Ian Catterson, 73, from Millport, died after the twin screw conventional tug girted and overturned. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch's report into the tragedy was published in November last year, though none of its findings laid blame directly at the door of the Hebridean Princess's crew or the ship's owners.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Ferguson Marine: Firm 'mitigating risks' affecting Glen Rosa delivery
But the summer timetable for tourists and islanders alike is usually valid from the end of March. And Graeme Thomson, the new chief executive of Ferguson Marine was unable to be clear on when the ferry would finally arrive for user by state-owed ferry operator CalMac although he said he remained "confident" of meeting the latest of what he called targets. He told MPs: "We have a target date of quarter 2 of 26 and I'm sticking with that. What I mean is we're working to schedule and still have risks that we have to manage. "So while that schedule is getting worked, I'm very conscious that we will need to mitigate the risks that will affect that schedule any further. "So although we'll keep driving the programme to be as early in quarter two, we have risks that may manifest despite the effort to mitigate them, and that has potential to move that delivery out to later in quarter 2." He also said he was committed to "refine" the delivery window by the end of this year and the costs "based on the success we have in mitigating the risks that we perceive at the moment that aren't yet sentenced and mitigated". Last year wellbeing economy secretary Màiri McAllan said nationalised Ferguson Marine considered the latest delays and costs forecasts - which had Glen Rosa ready to use in September - was the "final position" after the firing of chief executive David Tydeman. David Tydeman (Image: Ferguson Marine) Glen Rosa and its sister ship Glen Sannox were both due to be online within first seven months of 2018, to serve Arran. In the midst of the delays and soaring costs, Ferguson Marine, under the control of tycoon Jim McColl, fell into administration and was nationalised at the end of 2019 with state-owned ferry and port-owning agency Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and the yard's management blaming each other. Mr Thomson, appearing before the UK Parliament Scottish Affairs Committee repeated an "unreserved apology to the island communities". Read more from Martin Williams: He said: "It must be acutely frustrating for them to hear this and hear it again in May, given that we had said previously, September 25. "I'm confident in what we've done. We are confident we'll make it for quarter two of 2026, but we do need to mitigate some risk before we can actually narrow that down." A ferry user group official said that there was concern that the "goalposts appear to be being repositioned on delivery once again". "Nobody wants anything but to for Ferguson Marine to finally deliver on the last of the ferries," he said. "But what are these risks that could affect scheduling. "Most of us would want to see Glen Rosa after all the years of delay finally ready for the summer of next year, but if April is the earliest that it can be delivered, then it will, of course, miss the start of that and there are already signs that the timings are being pushed back and back, which has to affect CalMac planning." Graeme Thomson (Image: Ferguson Marine) Ferguson Marine said Mr Thomson had spent his first weeks studying the delivery plans, working with finance and project management teams to challenge the assumptions on key milestones, critical paths, resource hours and costs to ensure the assessments are robust and well-informed with an appropriate level of risk attached. In February, Ferguson Marine interim chief executive John Petticrew admitted to MSPs there was a risk of further delays to Glen Rosa and there were fears then of a six-month hold up. He expected a full update on a "bottom-up exercise" on Glen Rosa with a view to provide a new schedule including updated costs by the end of February - but it and any amended costs and delay information did not emerge until now. Glen Sannox finally entered service in January, some seven years behind schedule. But in March, the Inverclyde shipyard was dealt a major blow after losing out to a Polish yard on a contract to build seven CalMac electric ferries, raising concerns over its future viability. However, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said if the first phase of the small vessel replacement programme - responsible for building ferries capable of servicing short routes on the west coast of Scotland - had been awarded directly to Ferguson Marine, without any competition, it would have introduced 'substantial risk' and the prospect of court action. Four days earlier, Mr Petticrew had resigned as chief executive for "personal reasons". He initially took on the chief executive's role for six months after the firm's board dismissed his predecessor a year ago, but had agreed to stay on until Easter. Ferguson Marine declined to explain what the "risks" were.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Ferguson shipyard boss calls for direct award of new ferry
The new boss of Ferguson Marine has called for a new CalMac ferry order to be directly awarded to the state-owned shipyard to secure its Thomson said the replacement for MV Lord of the Isles was a target contract for the Port Glasgow yard which has no ship orders once MV Glen Rosa is completed next direct award is not possible, he told a committee of MPs that "social value" should be included in the assessment of bids in order to create a "level playing field" with overseas rivals. He said it would be "very difficult" and "very challenging" to sustain the current workforce unless the yard secures the new order. The Port Glasgow shipyard recently signed a deal for subcontracting work building units for the frigate HMS Birmingham under construction by BAE Systems in Glasgow, but the new work is not in itself enough to guarantee the yard's future. He said it was actively pursuing a number of opportunities, but singled out the planned replacement for MV Lord of the Isles, an 84m (276ft) CalMac ferry built by Ferguson's 35 years ago, which normally serves South Uist. The Scottish government has said it has earmarked funding for the contract, but ferries agency CMAL is awaiting the go-ahead to begin the procurement. The Ferguson shipyard, which employs about 300 people, suffered a major blow earlier this year when an important order for seven small electric ferries for CalMac, worth £160m, went to the Polish firm Remontowa. Mr Thomson said he had been told by CMAL the Ferguson bid did well in the technical evaluation but could not match the overseas yard on price. He told the committee: "We're OK with competition as long as we're playing on a level playing field."As long as a situation prevails where international yards can do it cheaper than us because of the tax breaks, the labour rates, whatever, then we'll never be playing on a level playing field." 'Race to the bottom' Earlier an industry body told the committee that overseas yards enjoyed more state support and cheaper labour costs, often able to undercut UK yards by 10-20%. The UK's refreshed national shipbuilding strategy has called for a minimum 10% social value element in public tenders to offset that. But CMAL, which is owned by the Scottish government, has said it did not include social value in the scoring for the small vessels contract because it was worried about a possible legal challenge. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes had earlier ruled out a direct award of that contract, also citing legal risks. Mr Thomson said public procurement needed to "move away from a race to the bottom in terms of price" to a model that recognised the economic and social benefits of building ships in the UK. "We are lobbying for a shift in emphasis on UK local content and even whether we can get direct award," he said. Mr Thomson, who took up his post in May, accepted that huge overspends and delays with two dual-fuel LNG CalMac ships had harmed the yard's reputation. He said it now needed to "demonstrate delivery" to restore confidence, and once a new order was secured it would draw down £14.2m of new investment promised by Scottish ministers. Some of the planned equipment could reduce the labour time required for steelwork by 30-40%, he said, and would make the yard more competitive. He described the two overbudget ships MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa as prototypes whose problems had arisen from a "bespoke set of circumstances". These included poor planning and an ill-advised "rush to get busy" before there was a mature design in place, he said. Why was Glen Sannox so hard to build? But he said the skills of the Ferguson workforce were no different from other more successful yards such as Babcock, where he previously worked, and BAE Systems. He said he saw the yard's future in building ships between 60 and 80m in length, much smaller than dual fuel ships which are 102.5m (335ft) shipyard could at the same time build smaller vessels, supplemented by subcontracting work on military ships, he added. What other orders could Ferguson Marine bid for? Aside from the MV Lord of the Isles replacement there are several publicly-funded ship procurements in the pipeline which could potentially provide much-needed work for the Ferguson shipyard: Phase two of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme will see ferries agency CMAL order three more small electric CalMac Scottish government has just confirmed it is looking to replace the fisheries protection vessel Minna, and the fishing research vessel Scotia - both previously built by Ferguson's - although no timetable has been UK Border Force is looking to replace 11 small vessels, and the UK government has promised they will be built in the UK. The Ferguson management believes demand for windfarm support ships or lighthouse board vessels could also provide opportunities. Prior to the ferries controversy, Ferguson's reputation was largely built by focusing on specialised ships, under 100m in length.
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Tiree islanders fury over exclusion from Scottish ferry fund
Details of the long-awaited new cash for cafés, shops, hotels and other tourism-reliant firms were outlined at the end of last month, but crucially only eight islands will be eligible. READ MORE The IBRF offers grants of up to £35,000 to businesses on South Uist, Colonsay, North Uist, Eriskay, Benbecula, Berneray, Grimsay and Arran. The criteria used by the Scottish Government to decide which islands qualified focused on ferry cancellations. To be eligible, islands had to have suffered over 15% of service cancellations across three seasons — far above the 7% average across the CalMac network. However, islands where there has been a significant drop in capacity — with smaller vessels meaning fewer visitors — are not eligible. Businesses on Tiree say they have been affected by capacity issues (Jamie Simpso)In their letter, Gerard McGoogan, convenor, and John Holliday, secretary, of Tiree Community Council said that during the late winter and spring drydocking period, their usual ferry, the MV Clansman, 'is replaced for months on end by the much smaller and less powerful Lord of the Isles'. They also criticised the new CalMac booking system, which 'has often shown full ferries, only for the boats to sail with apparent space'. 'So, our problem has been more to do with a lack of capacity at particular times of year, rather than cancelled sailings. 'For years we have heard instances of island businesses losing out financially because of this. Hotels, guest houses and campsites have lost bookings and substantial revenue. Crofters have been unable to move livestock and feed. Fishermen have been unable to move their catch.' They said the initial announcement of the IBRF was welcome, but that it would be an understatement to say they were 'bitterly disappointed that Tiree will miss out on any compensation'. 'We regard the methodology devised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to measure the impact of ferry failure in the Hebrides as flawed, and failing to capture the particular problems we face on this island. 'We are not aware that HIE has reached out to Tiree to collect any data. 'We lost faith in the Scottish Government to run a competent ferry service to Tiree some time ago. We have now lost faith in the Scottish Government to understand our island and the huge challenges our businesses face.' The Lord of the Isles sails to Tiree during the winter Their criticism follows similar flak from islanders on Mull. Locals there said that capacity cuts were equivalent to a 22% drop, down around 7,000 passenger visits. The west coast ferry network has suffered years of disruption, with an ageing fleet and delays in the delivery of new vessels repeatedly affecting services. The Herald approached Transport Scotland for comment. They said the Scottish Government was leading on the fund. The Scottish Government referred The Herald back to their initial press release. They said the criticisms from the Tiree Community Council regarding ferry capacity, booking systems and the loss of faith in the running of ferry services were for Transport Scotland.
