A new passenger vessel that was only recently delivered to Scottish government-owned ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) following repeated delays has had its maiden operational voyage postponed due to issues with some of its onboard systems, local newspaper The Scotsman reports.
CalMac said that the sewage system on board the Ro-Pax ferry Glen Sannox will need to undergo “minor remedial work,” which means the initial trial sailings with passengers originally scheduled for this week will instead proceed at a later date.
A number of other “technical issues” have also been identified, including those related to the electronics installed in the vessel’s bridge.
CalMac nonetheless assured that the ferry will be able to sail with embarked passengers beginning on January 13.
Glen Sannox belongs to a series of two dual-fuel ferries built by Scottish shipyard Ferguson Marine for CalMac for operation on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services on the west coast of Scotland. The vessels' twin 3,000kW engines are configured to be capable of running on either low-sulphur MGO or LNG to deliver a service speed of 16.5 knots.
Glen Sannox's procurement and construction have been marred by issues such as cost overruns and the vessel's failure to satisfy design requirements, thus resulting in delays.
The ferry was originally scheduled to enter service with CalMac in 2018 but was only delivered in late 2024.