New ferry Glen Sannox to be out of service for week-long repairs

A long-awaited ferry at the centre of a scandal will be taken out of service for a week later this month for repairs, the operator has said.

The Glen Sannox will enter Inchgreen dry dock in Greenock, Inverclyde, on February 23, returning to service on March 3.

The planned repairs include the replacement of the anchor chain gypsy wheels, which was announced before the ferry entered service last month, as well as other remedial work.

The MV Isle of Arran will cover for the ferry on its route between Troon in South Ayrshire and Brodick on Arran, having moved to the Mull route when the Glen Sannox took to the water for the first time.

A CalMac spokeswoman said: “The need to carry out these repairs was highlighted prior to entering service, but the main thing is that we have a plan in place to maintain service levels whilst these works take place.

“Redeploying MV Isle of Arran to cover provides the capacity and frequency the community on Arran needs.”

She added that the Glen Sannox has “outperformed our expectations” in the first month of its service.

“MV Glen Sannox’s performance since entering service has been first class,” the spokeswoman said.

“We’re delighted with how resilient she has proven, particularly when operating in weather conditions which have led to other services on the network being disrupted.

“We anticipate losing a number of return sailings to technical issues when any new vessel enters service, but MV Glen Sannox has outperformed our expectations.”

The Glen Sannox is one of two hugely delayed and over-budget ferries contracted to be built at the Ferguson Marine shipyard, which was taken into public ownership in 2019, in Port Glasgow.

Its sister vessel, the Glen Rosa, is due to be complete in September, though the boss of the yard this week said there is a “risk” that could be delayed, and Conservative MSP Graham Simpson claimed he has been told the delay could be as long as six months.