COSTS for Arran's two new ferries have risen yet again, according to the yard’s chief executive.
An update from Ferguson boss David Tydeman has advised members of Holyrood’s net zero, energy and transport committee that the yard are aiming for final bill for the first ship, MV Glen Sannox, to be between £145.5m and £149.1m.
Mr Tydeman also revealed that the target delivery date for Glen Sannox’s sister ship, MV Glen Rosa, has now been moved to ‘no later than September 2025’.
In a letter reacting to the update, the cabinet secretary for wellbeing economy, net zero and energy, Mairi McAllan MSP, described the cost increases and delays as ‘extremely disappointing’.
It was previously hoped that Glen Sannox would be handed over by March of this year, but completion is now targeted for May 31, although in his update Mr Tydeman says that this is subject to ‘final inspections and trials’.
The ship began sea trials under the auspices of Ferguson Marine in the Firth of Clyde earlier this month, with the yard describing the trials as "overwhelmingly positive".
The forecasted cost for Glen Rosa is now set ‘not to exceed a maximum of £150m’, however Mr Tydeman says that the yard is aiming to complete the vessel at a stretch target below £140m, and up to three months earlier than the September 2025 deadline.
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