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The Herald Scotland
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Turkey ferry NV Isle of Islay on track to be delivered by October
It has been confirmed that the second of successful sea trials means that MV Isle of Islay - one of the first of the four ferries being built in Turkey in the wake of Scotland's ferry fiasco - is on target to be delivered sometime by October. State-owned ferry procurer Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) confirmed that MV Isle of Islay remans scheduled to be delivered by October - meaning in theory it could be available for the summer timetable which ends on October 19. That means that the ferry will have taken just less than three years to be complete, with work starting in October, 2022. Meanwhile, the delivery of MV Glen Rosa - the second of Scotland's two ferry fiasco vessels, is running eight years late. The latest in a long series of rescheduled delivery dates for the ship shows that it is due online sometime between April and June - next year. That's over ten years after the first steel was cut on the Ferguson Marine vessel. Glen Rosa and sister ship MV Glen Sannox were due online in the first half of 2018 when Ferguson Marine was under the control of tycoon Jim McColl, with both now due to serve Arran. The last estimates suggest the costs of delivery could more than five-fold from the original £97m cost. A second set of sea trials for MV Isle of Islay have now been carried out by the Turkish shipyard Cemre Marin Endustri in Yalova, Turkey. MV Glen Rosa (Image: George Munro) The trials took place in the Sea of Marmara from Wednesday, July 16 to Sunday, July 20 and were attended by staff from CMAL and CalMac Included in the trials were the set-up and testing of the battery energy storage system (BESS), as well as the testing and optimisation of the power management system (PMS) and energy management system (EMS). The vessel has returned to the Cemre Marin Endustri quayside, where she is undergoing further outfitting work with CMAL saying the vessel remains scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of this year. It comes as it was confirmed that Ferguson Marine was "mitigating risks" over delivery of MV Glen Rosa while it is not expected to be ready for the start of the crucial summer timetable - next year. Ferguson Marine, the nationalised Inverclyde shipyard firm at the centre of the fiasco, has Glen Rosa would be ready for passengers in the second quarter of 2026 - between April and June. Read more from Martin Williams: But the summer timetable for tourists and islanders alike is usually valid from the end of March. A ferry user group official said: "It is fantastic to hear that one of many crucial lifeline ferries is finally going to be delivered after a lack of investment. "We can but hope that the remaining issues with MV Glen Rosa can be ironed out sooner rather than later and hopefully bring to an end a dark chapter in the delivery of lifeline island services. The fact Turkey is deliver a ferry so quickly against the record of Ferguson Marine is an indictment on ferry procurement in Scotland and we can only hope that things can only get better." CalMac ferry (Image: .) Islay is being built to hold 450 passengers and 107 cars, while Glen Rosa is designed for up to 852 passengers and 127 cars. Jim Anderson, director of vessels at CMAL, said: 'The successful testing of the hybrid system [of MV Isle of Islay] marks a significant step forward in completing this new vessel for Islay and Jura. 'The team at Cemre have made good progress in the build programme for the vessel, and we continue to work closely with the shipyard as we move into the final stages of the build.' MV Isle of Islay is the first of four ferries being built at the Turkish yard, and marks what Sottish Government-owned ferry owner and procurer Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) says is a "major milestone in its commitment to delivering new ferries to serve the Scottish islands". MV Isle of Islay and sister ship MV Loch Indaal are being both being constructed for CalMac's Islay service. Construction of the vessels got officially underway in October, 2022 after the £105m contract was controversially given to the Turkish shipyard. CMAL has said that the new 310-foot vehicle passenger ferries will provide a combined 40% increase in vehicle and freight capacity on the Islay routes and "improving the overall resilience" of the wider fleet. Past testing of Islay evaluated the vessel's performance at full load, including speed, stability, manoeuvrability, anchor deployment/recovery and endurance. The trials also established the effectiveness of the vessel's propulsion plant, automation and navigational systems.
Bloomberg
24-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Monaco Bank With Ties to Prince Andrew Nears Sale to Fintech Investors
Three investors are preparing to relaunch the Monaco-based arm of Banque Havilland SA, almost a year after the wider banking group lost its European license over concerns about its internal controls. Monzo and Starling Bank co-founder Jason Bates, Ukrainian tech investor Maksym Koretskiy, and Scottish billionaire Jim McColl are involved in the attempted purchase and revamp, according to documents dated May seen by Bloomberg News.
The Herald Scotland
22-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Inquiry demand over 'scandal' of 100s of jobs lost in ferry fiasco
A rejected proposal to create a Clyde shipbuilding revolution, save state-controlled Scots shipyard firm Ferguson Marine and help solve the nation's ferry crisis fronted by a Scots entrepreneur involves the creation of a fleet of 50 catamarans as part of an £800 million scheme - a fraction of the cost of those currently being built. The proposal works out at £16m per catamaran while the cost of the Scottish Government's 13 is at around £70m to date. Anger has erupted as an analysis of warnings by the state-owned ferry operator CalMac over potential and actual disruptions to passengers using two ferries on one of Scotland's busiest lifeline routes through technical faults and the ability to operate in adverse weather surrounded one of the two massively over-budget and wildly delayed ferry fiasco vessels - MV Glen Sannox. Users have told The Herald how of the two ferries operating from Troon to Arran it is the second emergency catamaran, MV Alfred - chartered for nearly two years from Pentland Ferries - that has become the 'reliable workhorse' despite being six years older than Glen Sannox which finally started taking passengers in January. Stuart Ballantyne with one of his catamaran designsAt the start of the month, the catamaran was chartered for a further five months to help cope with the continuing island ferry crisis at a public cost of £22m - that's £8m more than it cost to buy. It is believed that Alfred was modelled on designs by Stuart Ballantyne, a Scottish naval architect and chairman of Australian marine consulting firm Sea Transport Solutions who it has emerged began proposing the catamaran plan to the Scottish Government in 2008. That's seven years before state-owned ferry owner and procurer Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) signed off on the disastrous £97m ferry contract to build two ferries at the Inverclyde shipyard firm Ferguson Marine owned then by the Scots tycoon and entrepreneur Jim McColl after it got ministerial approval. The Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa ferries were due to start taking passengers in the first half of 2018 with both eventually to serve Arran but have run seven years or more late with costs expected rise more than five fold the original £97m contract. In the midst of the delays and soaring costs, Ferguson Marine under the control of Mr McColl fell into administration and was nationalised at the end of 2019 with CMAL and the yard's management blaming each other. CMAL has since stuck with single hull ferries in designs for a new fleet of 11 vessels, with nearly £400m of contracts going abroad. It has denied it has been anti-catamaran. Read more: Now a group of experts has joined with Mr Ballantyne and local campaigners to raise concerns about the procurement of ferries in Scotland and said there should be a public inquiry into what is considered to be a "scandal". Among the group is Professor Alf Baird, a former director of the Maritime Research Group at Napier University who has been non-plussed by Scotland's failure to grasp the nettle of the catamaran project and shipping expert and consultant Roy Pedersen, who were both part of a high powered Scottish Government-formed advisory group over the ongoing ferry fiasco which was wound up in 2022 having not met since October, 2019. Some believe it is because ministers did not like the sound of dissenting voices. Alf Baird (Image: NQ) In a 2023 dossier from one ferry user group titled "CMAL's history of obstructing medium-speed catamaran" it detailed how Dr Baird had further presented the catamaran opportunity to the expert group in 2017 but there was resistance. Ten years ago leading academic Prof Neil Kay resigned from the advisory body months after it was created and accused the organisation of sidelining the interests of passengers. Now the group that also includes activists for the Campaign to Save Inchgreen Dry Dock which is fighting to save Scottish shipbuilding said the inquiry is needed in the wake of resistance to the catamaran project and the abolition of the expert advisory group. "Dismissing ferry advisers recruited specifically for their expert knowledge of the Scottish ferry services was seen by many as a deliberate ploy on the part of Transport Scotland to avoid scrutiny of CMAL's management and procurement failures," they said. This led to "over-specified" and overpriced major vessels and an "apparent inherent bias against a proven, more efficient and reliable catamaran option that would have greatly reduced capital and operating costs". They said: " If catamarans are not suited to our island routes as has been claimed, how can the Alfred be operating so successful..." A response from Transport Scotland's ferries infrastructure and finance division when asked about the catamaran project said that "any design solutions and procurement of new vessels by CMAL would be a decision for that authority and would need to be undertaken in line with applicable legislation and process." It said: " all proposals which may benefit Scotland's ferry network. This includes all appropriate vessel designs which can enhance or improve connections across Scotland's lifeline ferry network." The group said that this had "waved away any responsibility for the runaway costs, waste, abysmal performance and general havoc created by CMAL's design and procurement decisions". They went on: "This is surely a dereliction on the part of Transport Scotland of the duty to safeguard the public purse and the well being of the communities involved, otherwise what are they being paid for? "Dr Stuart Ballantyne's catamaran designs and plans were to build the new Scottish ferry fleet at Ferguson Marine - securing hundreds of jobs - Inchgreen and Govan dry docks. The 20-year plan that was given to current deputy first minister Kate Forbes in June 2022 could provide hundreds of skilled jobs and economic benefits for our Clyde communities and Scotland. The group said: "Instead, recent orders and taxpayers' money have gone to foreign shipyards for more over-specified vessels when cheaper to purchase and operate, home built catamaran designs are on the table. " They said responses to them "laid bare the total mismanagement of Scottish ferry services that continues to be a burden on the Scottish taxpayer. "It seems clear that CMAL is not fit for purpose and that the Scottish Government is not facing up to this long standing problem. There needs to be an independent public inquiry to get to the truth. Our island communities deserve much better. "It is time to make Clyde shipbuilding great again." It was envisaged that the major catamaran project would be based at nationalised Ferguson Marine, Inchgreen dry dock in Inverclyde and Govan dry dock. The Govan dry dock dates back to the 19th century, and has been out of action for more than 40 years but there are hopes that it can be brought back into use. Govan Drydock has said it wants to return the A listed dry dock to a fully operational ship repair and maintenance facility. The consortium headed by Mr Ballantyne said the plan will require a skilled workforce of around 1200 with hundreds more required in the supply chain. They say that the annual operating cost of catamarans is around half that of current CMAL monohull vessels. And they say that means that operating subsidies will be expected to be slashed as more catamarans begin to enter service. Mr Ballantyne, who over a decade ago received an honorary degree from Strathclyde University for services to the global maritime industry, says he believes that Scotland has the skills and infrastructure to establish a commercial shipyard which could be used to produce ferries not just for Scotland but for the export market. He said: "It is logical for a Scottish ferry company to logically support a Scottish shipbuilder for all the obvious reasons of local and national prosperity, skills training of youth, tackling youth crime and drug use. "I would suggest it is prudent to carry out a close investigation of CMAL decision makers... "The Scottish taxpayer is paying well above the odds over what can be produced locally." Four years ago the Scottish Government-owned owner of the ferry fleet demanded a foreign firm pay up to £100,000 to gain UK maritime approval before purchasing a ferry for just £9m - and the insistence led to the deal collapsing. That is £2m less than the current cost so far of repairs to 32-year-old MV Caledonian Isles which is out of action indefinitely after being sidelined for 17 months. Pentland Ferries' emergency ferry for CalMac MV Alfred has been a reliable feature on the Arran ferry run (Image: Newsquest) Discussions about acquiring the Indonesia-built vessel, which was proposed by the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee came before what was described at the time as a 'summer of chaos' across Scotland's ageing ferry network. It was claimed that CMAL made an "incredible" move to have the overseas owners fork out for the official approvals for any modifications to make it suitable for Scottish waters, which were estimated to have cost no more than £100,000. Committee chairman Joe Reade said: "I would agree that CMAL and CalMac are averse to anything novel. All their vessels - even the newest ones are in many respects just modern interpretations of a very old design type, with ancient operating practices embedded into them. So we don't have lock-on linkspans, as have been used elsewhere for generations (thus removing the need for rope-handling, and crew to do it). "It only adds to the cost of the ship, the size of the superstructure and the number of crew. "More efficient crewing is not just a feature of catamarans - it's a feature of any inshore ferry that has been designed to commercial incentives. Neither CalMac nor CMAL have any incentive to build or operate efficiently. It does not matter if they operate efficiently or productively, because whatever the cost, we the taxpayer pick it up. "The simple reason why Pentland Ferries chose a catamaran design was because as a commercial enterprise, they have to compete to survive. They are incentivised to make cost-effective buying and operating decisions. CalMac and CMAL have no such incentives, and so our hugely expensive, profligate and shamingly wasteful ferry system continues. "The more expensive ferries are to buy, and the more costly it is to operate, the more pressure there will be to increase fares, and the more difficult it will be to maintain or improve services. The ferry system is in danger of becoming unaffordable if costs continue to spiral. "This matters to us not just as taxpayers, but as islanders too." A spokesperson for CMAL said: "CMAL is not anti-catamaran; but what often goes unreported is that in geographies similar to Scotland, with comparable weather and sea conditions, medium speed (below 20 knots) catamarans are not a common choice for passenger / commercial ferry services. "An important factor in vessel choice is compatibility with specific routes, as well as flexibility to meet vessel redeployment needs across the network. We will only ever order the vessels best suited to the routes and communities they are intended to serve.' A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: "Assessment of new vessel options for routes across our networks is led by CMAL, Transport Scotland and the relevant operator. "As part of the design process CMAL appoint naval architects and technical consultants to consider and advise on vessel designs and route specific issues. Various hull forms (including catamaran designs), propulsion options, fuel types, and onboard arrangements are considered and assessed as part of the design process. Engagement with communities, businesses and representative groups is essential, and it is maintained throughout the process.'
STV News
10-06-2025
- Business
- STV News
The Scots homeowners fighting for justice after being mis-sold solar panels
Homeowners fighting for compensation after being tied into 25-year loans under a scrapped Green Deal scheme are demanding a blanket cancellation of their solar panel contracts. Customers of Scottish firm Helms (Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd), which went bust almost a decade ago, claim they've been left with the legacy of mis-selling. Without any professional legal support, groups in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire have been waiting to present their cases to a tribunal – a complex process that has been fraught with delays. Many of those affected say they feel abandoned after being left with faulty systems, multi-year loans and no clear route to justice. Some homeowners have been fighting for over a decade to get answers, but they are caught in a complex appeals process and seeking redress for loans they say should never have been approved. Jim McColl, a retired TV technician from Blantyre, was cold-called by Helms in 2013. The 68-year-old signed up for solar panels and underfloor insulation. STV News Jim McColl. 'We want to move to a bungalow due to health issues, but I can't sell the house,' he told STV News. 'No-one wants the burden of this contract.' Jim says he was offered £500 to walk away from his claim. 'I was livid. After everything we've been through? I feel totally abandoned by everybody that was supposed to protect us.' Jim's wife suffered a heart attack last year, which he believes was brought on by the stress of the ordeal. 'I'm not doing this for money. I just want the burden lifted, especially for my wife,' he said. 'I just want it finished so we can go on with what's left of our lives.' Eugene O'Brien, 75, bought his home in 2012. Soon after, he signed up to a Green Deal offer from Helms. More than a decade on, he's preparing for a second-tier tribunal appeal – one of up to 15 cases being considered. STV News Eugene O'Brien. 'When Helms went bust, I had the panels checked,' said O'Brien. 'The engineer told me: 'You can fill the kettle today and it might be boiled next Christmas.' That's how little energy they were generating.' Like hundreds of Helms customers back in 2013, Eugene says he was given a promise that the solar panels and improvements to his home would lower his energy bills at no extra cost. He was also told that it was all backed by the UK Government. This form of the green deal was scrapped two years later. Helms was fined for its sales tactics and when the firm went bust in 2016, Eugene had the solar panels checked. The readings from his consumer unit were faulty from the start. Fixing the system cost him £1,500 – money he believes he never should have had to spend. 'It's disgusting that it has dragged on this long,' he told STV News. 'Green Deal is punishing us for their mistake. I just want it ended, one way or another. There should be refunds. The scheme should be scrapped.' Shirley Buchanan, from the Balornock area of Glasgow, signed up to the scheme in 2012 and is now locked into a 25-year loan. She claims she was tied to a finance deal she knew nothing about, left with debt and paying more for electricity. This is the second time she has taken her complaint to a tribunal. 'It just makes me angry – angry at Helms and angry at myself,' said the 76-year-old. 'It's hard to navigate all this legal stuff. You feel like you're fighting half the world.' STV News Shirley Buchanan. Despite suffering two heart attacks, she's continuing the fight and will give evidence in person at the tribunal. She said: 'They need to see the faces of the people this is affecting. I'm not getting any younger, and this has taken its toll. 'It is difficult to navigate when you don't have the knowledge as most of it is legal stuff. I am still trying to fight it. 'But at times it feels like you are trying to fight against half the world. You don't have the knowledge. 'If you let it get you down too much, you would just give in, so you have to keep fighting and hoping you get a better result next time.' Eugene and Shirley were both unable to insure their homes as the work was carried out without building community action group worked with politicians and Glasgow City Council to ensure that was rectifed in 2020. Securing the win was enough for some to walk away from pursuing complaints. Others plan to continue, despite the lack of professional legal help. Angela Lowe never imagined she'd be helping neighbours prepare tribunal evidence, but that's what she's doing now. 'We've had to go through 70-page legal documents ourselves,' she told STV News. 'We're not lawyers, we're just people trying to get this sorted.' STV News Angela Lowe. Angela works in finance and says the Financial Conduct Authority should have had oversight. 'If this had been FCA-regulated, it wouldn't have been allowed to drag on for ten years,' she said. She also shared stories of neighbours who have died before seeing justice, leaving families to resolve complex estates. September is now the latest date that has been set for the hearings. A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told STV News: 'The Green Deal issued loans from 2013 to 2019. We are investigating all complaints referred to the department on this inherited scheme to resolve them as quickly as possible.' However, the department has so far not provided updates on how many complaints are under review, or how many contracts – if any – have been cancelled. In Lanarkshire, no agreements have been secured around retrospective building warrants, and as the 25-year loan is attached to the home, rather than the person applying, it makes selling a property difficult. The Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC), which took over the loan book in 2017 and relaunched the scheme, received over 480 complaints. STV News Repeated requests for comment from GDFC, a subsidiary of Tandem Money Limited, have gone unanswered. A spokesperson for Tandem Money Limited, said: 'We are aware of a small number of historic complaints by Green Deal customers. 'These are being processed by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero on a case-by-case basis and GDFC remains committed to providing any assistance the Department requires.' As second-tier tribunal appeals move forward, those involved say their only hope is for accountability and closure. 'There needs to be refunds,' says O'Brien. 'This never should have been allowed to happen.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
06-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Turkey ferry to be delivered seven years faster than Scots fiasco ship
It has been confirmed that the first of successful sea trials means that MV Isle of Islay - one of the first of the four ferries being built in Turkey in the wake of Scotland's ferry fiasco - is on target to be delivered sometime between next month and September. That means that the ferry will have taken just less than three years to be complete, with work starting in October, 2022. Meanwhile, the delivery of MV Glen Rosa - the second of Scotland's two ferry fiasco vessels, is running nearly eight years late. The latest in a long series of rescheduled delivery dates for the ship shows that it is due online sometime between April and June - next year. That's over ten years after the first steel was cut on the Ferguson Marine vessels. Glen Rosa and sister ship MV Glen Sannox were due online in the first half of 2018 when Ferguson Marine was under the control of tycoon Jim McColl, with both now due to serve Arran. The last estimates suggest the costs of delivery could more than five-fold from the original £97m cost. MV Glen Rosa - before a delayed launch (Image: Newsquest) It comes as state-owned ferry and port owner CMAL said the first sea trials for MV Isle of Islay had been carried out successfully by Cemre Marin Endustri in Yalova, Turkey. The trials took place from Thursday, May 22 to Friday, May 30 in the Sea of Marmara, with staff from CMAL and state-owned ferry operator CalMac in attendance. CMAL said the first part of the sea trials saw the set-up of the propulsion systems, generators, thrusters, stabilisers and associated electrical systems. These were then tested, trialled and measured with Lloyd's Register and the Marine Coastguard Agency (MCA) in attendance. The delivery date is predicated on the outcome of two sets of sea trials with the second due to take place later this summer, following the vessel's battery system and harbour acceptance trials. READ MORE:] Why did Scots ministers support award of £381m in ferry contracts to overseas firms Cost to repair CalMac ferry now £2m more than to buy replacement Why has a 'rudderless' CalMac ferry been out of action for 16 months 'Final nail in coffin'. Scots fiasco firm loses out on big ferry contract to Poland 'Material uncertainty' over Scots ferry operator future amidst £45m funding hike 'Mismanagement': Public cost of Scots ferry fiasco firm hits £750m amidst overspends A ferry user group official said: "It is great news to hear that things are going well with the Islay ferry. Islanders have long been calling for better investment into ferry services and so to hear that there have been successful sea trials fills me with optimism on that score. "What is incredible and quite frankly laughable is that it is likely to be completed way before Glen Rosa every makes its way to Arran. "It is, perhaps, not the greatest surprise in the world, and you do have to take into account Glen Rosa is a bigger ship than Islay, but nevertheless it is yet another example, if any more were needed of the dire mismanagement of ferries in Scotland." Islay is being built to hold 450 passengers and 107 cars, while Glen Rosa is designed for up to 852 passengers and 127 cars. "That's not to say that Ferguson Marine could not have built Islay. Ideally a Scottish company would do the job. But we know there are problems there that need to be resolved." Ferguson Marine (Image: Colin Mearns) MV Isle of Islay is the first of four ferries being built at the Turkish yard, and marks what Sottish Government-owned ferry owner and procurer Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) says is a "major milestone in its commitment to delivering new ferries to serve the Scottish islands". MV Isle of Islay and sister ship MV Loch Indaal are being both being constructed for CalMac's Islay service. Construction of the vessels got officially underway in October, 2022 after the £105m contract was controversially given to the Turkish shipyard. CMAL has said that the new 310-foot vehicle passenger ferries will provide a combined 40% increase in vehicle and freight capacity on the Islay routes and "improving the overall resilience" of the wider fleet. Testing of Islay evaluated the vessel's performance at full load, including speed, stability, manoeuvrability, anchor deployment/recovery and endurance. The trials also established the effectiveness of the vessel's propulsion plant, automation and navigational systems. Jim Anderson, director of vessels at CMAL, said: 'This is a great step forward in the build programme of the Isle of Islay. The team at Cemre are working hard to prepare the vessel for delivery. There is a great feeling of momentum following the successful completion of this first phase of sea trials.' After a series of false dawns, len Rosa was expected to be taking passengers in September - but now state-owned Ferguson Marine has admitted the full sign off and deliver will not be till the summer of next year - between April and July. Meanwhile the total forecast costs has increased by £22.5m with a further 'risk contingency' of £12.5m. But the £35 million extra public costs for Glen Rosa being asked for by Ferguson Marine is to become subject to further 'due diligence' probing by ministers before a decision is made on whether the extra money will be provided. 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.
