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Delayed CalMac ferry named Glen Rosa after public vote

CMAL Ship sailingCMAL
An artist's impression of MV Glen Rosa, previously known as Hull 802

One of two CalMac ferries being built at Fergusons shipyard on the Clyde will be named MV Glen Rosa following a public vote.

Both Glen Rosa and her sister ship, the MV Glen Sannox, have been subject to repeated delays and spiralling costs.

They were meant to be completed in 2018 for £97m but the final cost is now likely to stand at more than £300m.

Glen Rosa is scheduled to begin operating in December 2024.

It emerged earlier this month that sea trials for the Glen Sannox had been delayed until the first quarter of next year and the slipway launch of Glen Rosa has been put back to next March.

Nearly 5,000 entries were cast in the online naming competition with Glen Rosa winning 52% of the votes.

The vessel, which is being lined up to serve CalMac's Arran route, will share its name with a glen near the island's Goat Fell.

Getty Images Hull 802Getty Images
Glen Rosa will be delivered after the Glen Sannox

It follows confirmation last week that the Glen Sannox would be further delayed after safety regulators demanded design changes.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency rules on passenger evacuation routes mean extra staircases and wider doorways will have to fitted on both vessels.

More details of the impact of the changes are expected next month.

Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of Scottish ferries agency CMAL, said: "Though we are disappointed in the delay to launching the vessel reported by Fergusons last week, we understand that the priority is ensuring that the newly-named MV Glen Rosa achieves Maritime and Coastguard (MCA) approval.

"We continue to work closely with the team at Ferguson Marine and can see great progress being made towards the delivery of both."

Getty Images Exterior of Ferguson marine with a crane working on Glen RosaGetty Images
Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa will cost the public purse over £300m, which is more than three times the contracted price

Earlier this year, a "value for money" study found it would be cheaper to scrap the second ferry and place an order elsewhere.

But the Scottish government said continuing the build of Glen Rosa was the fastest way of securing a new ship.

It is currently on the slipway at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow.

The shipbuilding firm, which was taken into public ownership in 2019, said the launch of Glen Rosa would take place in March 2024.

It will then move to the quayside for more fitting out work, and is expected to be operational by December 2024.

Glen Rosa and Glen Sannox are 102m dual-fuel ferries with the capacity for up to 1,000 passengers as well as accommodation for 32 officers and crew.

Four smaller ships are being built in Turkey. These smaller vessels will have capacity for up to 450 passengers and 100 cars, or 14 commercial vehicles.

Robbie Drummond, chief executive of CalMac, said: "We are very much looking forward to MV Glen Rosa and MV Glen Sannox joining our fleet. These vessels will provide much-needed resilience to the Arran community, and to the network as a whole."