The delivery date for MV Glen Rosa – the second of two delayed ferries from the Ferguson Marine shipyard – has been pushed back to next year.
The cost of the ship has also increased to a maximum of £185m, meaning the vessel and MV Glen Sannox have cost the nationalised shipyard about four times the original price tag of £97m.
It had been hoped Glen Rosa would join Glen Sannox in serving the Arran route in September, but it will now not be handed over until the second quarter of 2026.
The Scottish government-owned shipyard has been under intense scrutiny around the delays and cost increases of the two ferries.
The latest update from Ferguson Marine means Glen Rosa’s cost has risen from £150m to £172.5m, with an additional “risk contingency” giving a maximum forecasted cost of £185m.
Former Babcock chief executive Graeme Thomson joined Ferguson Marine as its new chief executive in March.
He said: “This is not the announcement we wanted to be making at this stage and cannot overstate our understanding of the importance of providing realistic handover schedules to support CalMac to provide a more reliable and robust service to the communities it serves.
“No one wants to see the swift delivery of MV Glen Rosa more than Ferguson Marine and we are committed to working hard to ensure the vessel is delivered within this window.
“We apologise unreservedly to islanders for this additional delay and want to assure everyone that we are working extremely hard to deliver a quality vessel that showcases the skill and experience of Clydebuilt ships.
“Once delivered, MV Glen Rosa will be transformative for our island communities.”
The ferries fiasco has been rumbling on for years. As well as repeated delays and increased costs, both vessels are too big for Ardrossan Harbour’s jetty to cope with – requiring an £80m upgrade.
In the meantime, services are being diverted along the coast to Troon.
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Deputy first minister Kate Forbes said she had “communicated” her “disappointment and frustration” to the Ferguson Marine board over the latest delay.
She added: “Taxpayers, and the communities which depend on the island ferries service, deserve better.
“I have instructed that a new weekly review group be established, chaired by Ferguson Marine and comprising the yard and our independent technical advisers, CMAL (Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd), to scrutinise the vessel’s delivery plan and ensure it is realistic, efficient and cost-effective.
“This is now operating alongside existing project meetings which continue to oversee key milestones, cost forecasts and operational performance.”
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Opposition parties said they would be pressing the Scottish government for answers.
Scottish Conservative MSP Sue Webber said: “The enormous increase in both the delay and the cost of delivering the Glen Rosa beggars belief – and yet it is totally in keeping with the nationalists’ scandalous mismanagement of our ferry network.
“In trying to buy some positive headlines, they allowed parts of the Glen Rosa to be cannibalised to prevent further delays to the Glen Sannox.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene added: “The MV Glen Rosa should have been delivered back in 2018, now islanders might have to wait until after the next Scottish parliament election before this vessel enters service, which is a disgrace.
“The hard-working staff at Ferguson Marine have been let down by bosses, all paid huge sums of public cash, yet islanders are still waiting on their ferries.”
