Further delay and cost increase to complete CalMac's next Turkish ferry revealed
The three ferries are already more than a year late
The three remaining ferries being built in Turkey for CalMac will be completed up to a further three months late and cost an additional £20 million, it was revealed on Monday.
The news comes after fears for the future of the Cemre shipyard involved prompted the Scottish government to take ownership of the vessels in June.
That involved ministers paying the remaining £23m of the £212m contract so they could be moved elsewhere to be completed if necessary - with the latest £20m cost coming on top of that.
Loch Indaal, earmarked for the Kintyre-Islay route, had been due to be completed in July but is not now expected until October. Its sea trials are complete.
However, it was originally due to have been finished in April last year.
Lochmor, being built for the Skye-Harris-North Uist triangle of routes, was due to follow next January after originally being planned for October last year.
However, that could now be as late as March, with its sea trials planned for November.
The final ferry, Claymore, which is earmarked for the same routes and which was launched in May, is now expected to be completed by next June.
That is a month earlier than previously scheduled, but more than a year later than its original completion date of April this year.
But the 450-passenger ferries are more than a year late due to supply problems caused by the war in Ukraine and unrest in the Middle East, and shipyard workers redeployed to help with the aftermath of a major earthquake.
The first of the four CalMac ferries to be built at the yard in Yalova, Isle of Islay, was completed in January - 15 months late.
It arrived in Scotland in February and entered service in March on the Islay route.
The new timescales for the others were announced to MSPs in a letter to the Scottish Parliament’s transport committee from Scottish Government ferry-buying firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal).
Cmal chief executive Kevin Hobbs said: “Once the delivery has taken place, there will be preparations for and the repositioning voyage from the Sea of Marmara back to Scotland and thereafter final preparations by CalMac to enter into service.”
The transit is expected to take around two weeks.
Mr Hobbs said: “We are working closely with the shipyard personnel, their suppliers, and subcontractors to achieve delivery of all three remaining vessels at the earliest opportunity.”
He said of the decision to take ownership of the ferries in June: “This was a proactive move in order to secure ownership having recognised the economic difficulties being experienced in the region and within the manufacturing sector of which shipbuilding is an integral part.”
In a separate letter to the committee, Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn said: “Ministers have approved around £20m of additional project costs to complete all three vessels and Cmal has agreed appropriate addendums to the commercial contracts, protecting public investment and maintaining the original vessel specifications.
“Cmal continues robust monitoring through their on-site staff, as well as regular visits by senior management teams.
“Full details of the contract addendums, ongoing activities and incurred costs following detailed review cannot be shared due to commercial sensitivities but Cmal will retain control of the vessel ownership and actively manage costs for the remainder of the build process up to and including delivery, prior to repositioning voyages.”
Transport Scotland indicated that re-ordering the ferries had been considered despite the Cemre vessels being between 85 and 97 per cent complete.
Its spokesperson said: “Total costs [of the Cemre order] are expected to be well below the cost of full re-procurement at current market prices, with the significant added benefit of much shorter delivery time frames – which are estimated as at least three years for a re-tendering for new ships.”
Transport committee convener Willie Rennie said: “People will be concerned with any additional cost or delay in the new ferries being delivered.
“It will be helpful to have the cabinet secretary in front of the committee next week to explain the decisions he has made in the procurement of these ferries.”
Reform UK Scotland transport spokesperson Graham Simpson said: “This is the last thing that islanders want to hear. Further delays just add insult to injury given what people have had to put up with for years. We can only hope that this is the last of the hold ups.”
Scottish Conservatives transport spokesman Tim Eagle said: “Islanders will find this news bitterly disappointing but also entirely predictable.
“It seems no matter where new ferries are being built, they are always facing delays and the costs to the taxpayer keep soaring.”
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