Ferguson shipyard manager removed as new ferry delay expected

A SENIOR manager in charge of the construction of the Glen Sannox ferry has been removed and a further delay to delivery is expected.

Ferguson shipyard said programme director Andy Crossan, who was seconded from Scottish Government ferries agency CMAL, was no longer working on the project.

The CalMac vessel, the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ferry built in the UK, is due for delivery by July 31.

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Glen Sannox and its sister vessel Glen Rosa were originally due six years ago but have faced repeated delays.

CMAL has blamed "catastrophic" contractor failure - but former yard owner Jim McColl, who rescued it from administration in 2014, claims a flawed specification and subsequent interference by CMAL were the problem.

Crossan joined CMAL as projects director and technical manager in 2015, just a few weeks before the contract was awarded to the Port Glasgow yard.

As the build ran into trouble, relations with McColl's management team became so fraught that he was temporarily banned from the shipyard.

However, in March 2022 he was seconded into the senior leadership team of the now-nationalised shipyard by new boss David Tydeman in a bid to improve the working relationship with CMAL.

Crossan was well-known to many of the workers, having been a manager there from 1990-2007 when the firm was known as Ferguson Shipbuilders.

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A spokesperson for Ferguson Marine said: "We can confirm the secondment arrangement with CMAL has ended and the secondee is no longer supporting the vessels programme."

Final work on Glen Sannox is being carried out a short distance from the Port Glasgow yard, at the Inchgreen quayside in Greenock.

Initial sea trials using traditional marine diesel are said to have gone well, but the dual-fuel ship's LNG systems have yet to be commissioned.

The ship is due to become the main ferry on the busy Arran route but will require several weeks of sea trials by CalMac after delivery before it can carry passengers.

Ferguson said an update on the ship's delivery would be given at the end of this month.