CalMac’s long-awaited new ferry Glen Sannox has formally entered service with the operator, after completing her first voyage with passengers, running from Troon to Brodick, on 12 January 2024, a day earlier than scheduled.
The crew officially welcomed passengers on board as the vessel began her service to the island of Arran at around 7am on Monday.
Originally due for delivery in 2018, the ferry and sister ship Glen Rosa have endured a saga of costly delays and technical problems at shipyard Ferguson Marine.
But after completing the first voyage on Sunday, CalMac said it has overcome some last-minute snags on the vessel.
Glen Sannox concluded her pre-service familiarisation programme earlier in the month when she visited several ports in the Western Isles for berthing trial procedures over the weekend of 3 to 5 January to assess her suitability as a relief vessel.
During her familiarisation trials, the vessel took over 15 hours non-stop to sail – her longest voyage yet – from Brodick to Stornoway on 3 January, berthing overnight at the Lewis capital prior to commencing her trials the following morning.
After trying out the main terminal with both bow and stern ramps, she moved onto Lochmaddy and Tarbert, Harris for similar tests with both ramps, attracting interest from local media and photographers, before heading across the Minch to Ullapool to berth overnight there.
She again tested the linkspan there with both ramps on the morning of 5 January, before leaving to return to Greenock for final works before finally entering service.
Plans to also visit Uig, Skye for trials were dropped due to “port authority restrictions” relating to construction works imposed by the Highland Council, even though it is doubtless she would fit there as well, with her design originally intended for the rebuilt ports on the ‘Uig Triangle’.
Glen Sannox and her sister Glen Rosa have been the subject of several years of controversy and are both overdue by seven years and overbudget by more than £400 million. Glen Sannox finally handed over from Ferguson Marine to CalMac on 21 November 2024.
However, no serious issues have emerged with the ship so far, but last-minute minor sewage problems identified during recent trials needed rectified this week shouldn’t affect her full entry into service.Initially, she will operate to Brodick from Troon until such time as rebuilding works at Ardrossan take place.
Glen Sannox is the second largest and the most complex vessel ever built for Caledonian MacBrayne. But the project has been hugely controversial, with the vessel finally being completed nearly seven years late and four times over budget.
The ship is operating out of Troon, rather than Ardrossan, as she is too big to operate from the South Ayrshire town, where residents are worried about the future. A plan to redevelop the privately-owned harbour has stalled over disagreements about funding.
The business case for Glen Sannox and sister ship Glen Rosa said they were meant to fit existing infrastructure. But after taking advice from consultants, CMAL decided to widen the ships, while the equipment to allow it to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other specifications meant they ended up being heavier than anticipated.
Ardrossan harbour is shallow and tricky to navigate, with a notorious handbrake turn required to berth. After berthing simulations using computers in Glasgow, it was decided it would be too risky to operate such big ships from the port unless the facilities were redeveloped.
Report and photos by Mark Nicolson and Andrew Wood
