Scotland's CalMac welcomes newest ferry to fleet

Scottish government-owned transport company Caledonian Macbrayne (CalMac) has taken delivery of a new Ro-Pax ferry built by local shipyard Ferguson Marine.

Glen Sannox belongs to a series of two dual-fuel ferries built by 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 capable of running on either low-sulphur MGO or LNG to deliver a service speed of 16.5 knots.

The newbuild has an LOA of 102.4 metres, a moulded beam of 17.5 metres, a draught of 3.4 metres, a depth of 5.95 metres, and space for 1,000 passengers and up to 127 vehicles. The main vehicle deck is 25 per cent larger than on CalMac's earlier ferry Hebrides.

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.