SNP ferry fiasco worsens. Again

Back to Scotland, where yet another ferry is facing further delays. The MV Glen Rosa, which is being built at the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow, has been hit by another setback – despite already being six years behind schedule and more than £100 million over budget. Talk about incompetent, eh?

It has emerged that when the ship’s funnels were removed for internal work, gaps weren’t sealed and as a result the ferry, er, flooded during heavy rain two weeks ago. More than that, it transpires that the funnels themselves were only initially fitted for cosmetic purposes for Glen Rosa’s late launch last year in order to make it look like the vessel was nearer completion than was actually the case. Parts then had to be subsequently removed to allow other integral components to be fitted. You couldn’t make it up…

This isn’t the first fiasco that has hit Scotland’s ferry projects in recent years. As reported by the Scottish Express, MV Glen Rosa’s sister vessel Glen Sannox was found to have a rusted propellor after having been left sitting still in Greenock for such a length of time. Last year, it transpired that parts were being removed from Glen Rosa to replace those on Glen Sannox – which had reportedly worn out, despite neither ship being in use. The latter vessel eventually entered service in 2025, seven years behind schedule. But now Glen Rosa, which was supposed to be ready for use in 2019, will have its service date further delayed to next year at the earliest.

It’s yet another palaver for the Scottish Government-owned Ferguson Marine shipyard, as taxpayer costs have ballooned over the years. The Scottish Tories have slammed today’s development as one that ‘should have been easily avoided’ while Labour fumed: ‘This is yet another embarrassing mishap in the SNP’s seemingly endless ferry fiasco.’ Quite.