It set sail nearly seven years late but in the event proved its worth. After quelling stormy seas that left two other ferries sheltering in harbour, the Glen Sannox is finally serving islanders on Arran.
As if to prove its durability, some passengers on its first scheduled voyage at dawn on Monday reacted in the traditional fashion to heavy seas, by vomiting into its brand-new toilets, while cafeteria trays slid over the tables.
Its maiden voyage from Troon to Brodick should bring to an end years of cancelled sailings for Arran, which has damaged the island’s fragile tourist economy and left hospital patients and wedding parties stranded.
Officials with CalMac, the ferry’s state-owned operators, went to bed on Sunday night after seeing it successfully complete a test run to Brodick. But they still were wondering whether the stormy weather overnight might scupper the sailing. There were 40mph winds forecast for the seas off Ayrshire.
In the event, it did leave 21 minutes late only because its crew were making doubly sure the 32 cars and lorries onboard, and its 104 passengers – about 20 of whom were reporters, press photographers and camera crew – were safely embarked.
With dawn breaking and the celebratory pennants being blown taut by a stiff, chilly wind, its well-wrapped passengers quickly queued for coffees and breakfast in the gleaming cafeteria.
“In an interesting way, this weather could be seen as a real blessing for us,” said one CalMac official. “What it shows is that a modern vessel with more manoeuvrability and more responsiveness can work in challenging weather.
“If we hadn’t had the Sannox on today, there would have been no sailings to Arran at all, because she’s built to cope with more challenging conditions.”
The heavy seas meant the MV Alfred, a smaller ferry leased from the Northern Isles operator Pentland Ferries, was stuck in Brodick, the main town on Arran, unable to sail to Ardrossan on the mainland. So too was the Lochranza service to the north of the island.
The Glen Sannox, named after a picturesque glen on the island, instead carried the Alfred’s stranded passengers to Troon, repeating the process throughout Monday.
A vessel at the centre of one of the UK’s longest-running procurement scandals, the Glen Sannox is the first new ferry to join CalMac’s ageing and increasingly shabby fleet, which services dozens of islands across the Hebrides and towns on the Clyde.
It has been built by Ferguson Marine, a now nationalised shipyard on the Clyde that was rescued from closure by the Scottish government. The Glen Sannox was due to sail in May 2018.
But beset by design failures, cost overruns and procurement mistakes, it and its sister ship the MV Glen Rosa have cost CalMac and Scottish taxpayers at least £380m – nearly four times the original £97m quote.
The Glen Sannox became infamous when it was officially “launched” by the then first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in 2017 with its windows painted on, temporary funnels made from plywood and vast gaps in its engineering and electrical fittings.
Even now, there are challenging questions about its environmental credentials. It runs on diesel and also liquefied natural gas (LNG) which, while less polluting than diesel, uses gas shipped and trucked from Qatar.
For Arran’s residents and businesses, that is largely forgotten. They are looking forward to a fully functioned ferry service, which will be completed when the MV Caledonian Isles, the vessel designated for the Ardrossan crossing, returns to service after a refit and repairs this Easter.
“The introduction of MV Glen Sannox today is really important to residents, businesses and community on Arran as we need reliable sailings to make appointments, to bring in supplies and of course to bring visitors,” said Sheila Gilmour, of the tourist body VisitArran.
“We need the reliability of service and the Glen Sannox would appear to be a more resilient vessel weather-wise, so far. And having the Glen Sannox with lifts going right up to the decks, and making the rear of the vessel dog-welcome offers greater inclusivity too – essential for today’s passengers.”
The Glen Sannox is still not running at full capacity, however. It has been commissioned to run from Ardrossan, not Troon, but Ardrossan’s harbour requires a multimillion-pound upgrade, which is at the centre of a wrangle between the harbour’s owner, Peel Ports, and CalMac and Transport Scotland about who should foot the bill.
Troon is nearly 20 miles further away from Brodick than Ardrossan; it ought to be servicing Arran five times a day but that extra sailing time means it can only make three.
