Forbes promises ‘maximum accountability’ after latest delay to Glen Rosa ferry

Kate Forbes has said there will be “maximum accountability” after the latest delay in the delivery of Glen Rosa, the remaining ferry being built at Ferguson Marine.

The deputy first minister said concerns from workers about problems causing delays with the vessel will be escalated quickly to the Government-owned shipyard’s board.

On Tuesday, the Port Glasgow shipyard said the handover of Glen Rosa had slipped once again to the second quarter of 2026, while costs had also increased – something Ms Forbes described as “wholly unacceptable”.

Ms Forbes answered an urgent question in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, saying she had met shop stewards from Ferguson Marine’s union.

She said: “We have agreed a number of additional actions that will amplify their voices in this process to ensure that issues they identify, that in their view are causing or impacting on the timescales, are escalated immediately to ensure there is maximum accountability, oversight and action taken about any issues that emerge”.

Labour’s Neil Bibby referred to previous delays from the yard, saying: “I feel I’ve gone back in time to three years ago, when the cabinet secretary said the exact same thing about unacceptable delays.”

He said workers “have been subjected to buck-passing and a merry-go-round of ministers and turnaround directors”.

Conservative MSP Edward Mountain, who is also convener of Holyrood Transport committee, asked her if she had confidence in Andrew Miller, chairman of the board of directors at Ferguson Marine.

Ms Forbes praised the shipyard’s new chief executive Graeme Thomson, saying she expected the board to show “strong leadership”.

She was also asked whether Glen Rosa’s delay was because of parts being cannibalised to complete Glen Sannox, which began carrying passengers in January after years of delays

She said there was “immense pressure” to deliver Glen Sannox, but this focus had come to the detriment of Glen Rosa.

The two ferries are now four times the original price tag of £97 million.

After the session, Tory MSP Sue Webber said: “This is yet another hammer blow for islanders, who will have to wait even longer for this lifeline vessel.

“Even by SNP standards, this delay is worse than anyone could ever have imagined, with the ferry now delayed until June 2026 and costs set to skyrocket by up to £35 million.”

Following the session at Holyrood, chief executive Graeme Thomson said: “We did not want to be in a position to push back the delivery of MV Glen Rosa. However, last year, Ferguson Marine was forced to undertake necessary measures to mitigate against the risk of further delays to the completion of MV Glen Sannox.

“This included utilising key staff and sub-contractor resource from MV Glen Rosa and has had a knock-on impact on the shipyard’s ability to hit key build milestones on MV Glen Rosa, resulting in a delay to the timeline for delivery and an increase in costs.

“Our team are working extremely hard to deliver MV Glen Rosa and we are committed to completing the vessel as quickly and efficiently as possible.”