A newly launched ferry, which was at the centre of a fiasco, has been removed from service and trips on it have been cancelled after a crack in the ship’s hull.
MV Glen Sannox is out of action for the rest of Friday and Saturday, according to the vessel’s operator CalMac.
Divers are set to assess the damage on Saturday and the company said it would issue an update on Sunday morning regarding the ship’s progress.
CalMac also said its sister vessel MV Alfred would provide additional services in a bid to assist any affected travellers.
It said the Alfred may be subject to delays and customers have been advised to book in advance.
On 13 January, the delayed and over-budget Glen Sannox finally made its maiden voyage – from Troon in South Ayrshire to Brodick on the Isle of Arran.
The ferry and its sister ship, MV Glen Rosa, are years late and have cost more than £400m – four times the original £97m contract price.
The Glen Sannox was originally launched by then first minister Nicola Sturgeon in November 2017. However, it later emerged the ship was far from finished and even had painted-on windows during the event.
Last month, Glen Sannox was docked for planned remedial work and returned to service earlier this month.
Glen Sannox is one of two hugely delayed and over-budget ferries contracted to be built at Ferguson Marine shipyard, which was taken into public ownership in 2019, in Port Glasgow.
The Glen Rosa is due to be completed in September, however, the boss of the yard said last month there was a “risk” that it could be delayed.
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‘Crack on weld seam on hull’
CalMac said in a statement on Friday: “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 15 March have been cancelled.
“We apologise for the disruption, and our port teams and customer engagement centre will be working hard to contact affected customers.”
