Ferries three years overdue, £110m cost overrun predicted
The ferries are now three years overdue, less than half built and are predicted to cost £110 million more than originally estimated. Hair says that the ships are “significantly less than half built” and that 95% of the ships design has not been agreed with CMAL more than four years after the ships were ordered. He said that more naval architects and engineers have been taken on to deal with this. The shipyards executive said that the planning process for changes to the design under the yards prior to nationalisation was “either absent or badly flawed”:
The number of £110m [the extra money needed to finish the project] has been arrived at from a very detailed examination of the two vessels and an understanding of the work that needs to be done in order to bring them up to a viable standard.It is a very significant number but it is a number that has been based on as rigorous an assessment as we’ve been able to carry out. It’s one where I am confident we can deliver the two vessels for that amount.
Committee member and Tory MSP Peter Chapman said people would find the situation “absolutely incredible”.
How the heck do you get to £110m, which is more than what the original cost was to start from scratch with a pile of steel and nothing?
Ferry Action Group raises design concerns
The Arran Ferry Action Group raises concerns about the absence of a key hull feature required for the Glen Sannox to operate efficiently at 14.5 knots. Additional confusion arises over the divergence of design between Glen Sannox and sister ship Hull 802, which were intended to be identical in design and specification. Chairman Sam Bourne:
It is such a terrible mess. The whole thing is complete confusion and it affects the performance of the boats. Fitting a ducktail now is bound to further delay the completion of the vessel. And if it is needed on 802 why is it not on Glen Sannox which has the same hull. You are going to have two boats that do not meet the spec that was given and are not identical. If one has it and the other hasn’t it just won’t meet the performance targets set. If the boats don’t meet the performance specifications, CMAL can refuse it and then who owns these vessels. If you have an inefficient hull form, they will cost more money to operate, and the green criteria they try to hit, you can throw those in the bin. Serious questions have to be asked of those who run the businesses at the time to allow this.
CMAL:
We are satisfied that the vessels meet the required specification, and are continuing to work closely with Transport Scotland, Scottish Government and Fergusons to manage the delivery of the two vessels.
Glen Sannox still without windows
It emerges that the bridge of the Glen Sannox still has no windows almost two years after launch. Black shapes were instead painted on the control room of the Glen Sannox prior to launch by Nicola Sturgeon in November 2017. GMB Scotland secretary Gary Smith:
[An inquiry] will also need to establish why a ferry ‘launched’ nearly two years ago has no windows on its bridge. What appears to be windows is actually black paint.
Unnamed source:
Fake windows were painted on a couple of years ago. It’s thought it was to make the boat look more finished than it really is.