![]() MV Glen Rosa fitting out at Newark Quay, August 2024 | |
History | |
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Name | Glen Rosa |
Namesake | Glen Rosa on the Isle of Arran |
Owner | Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited |
Operator | Caledonian MacBrayne |
Port of registry | Glasgow |
Route | Ardrossan - Brodick |
Ordered | 16 October 2015 |
Builder | Ferguson Marine, Port Glasgow, Scotland |
Cost | £97 million original contract for two ferries; £380 million as of June 2024, and £45 million loan written off. [1] |
Yard number | 802 |
Laid down | 16 June 2016 |
Launched | 9 April 2024 |
Christened | by Beth Atkinson |
Completed | May 2025 (expected) |
Identification | IMO number: 9794525 |
Status | Under construction |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 1,273 DWT [2] |
Length | 102.4 m (335 ft 11 in) [2] |
Beam | 17 m (55 ft 9 in) [2] |
Draught | 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) [2] |
Installed power | 2 × Wärtsilä 34DF diesels. [3] |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 14.5 kn (26.85 km/h) [2] |
Capacity |
MV Glen Rosa (Scottish Gaelic : Gleann Ruasaidh) is a car and passenger ferry, the second of two major vessels constructed at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow for the Scottish Government asset company CMAL to lease to its ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne. Originally planned for Uig based services, it will serve Arran. Both ships are to be dual-fuel, capable of operating on either marine gas oil, or LNG which offers a marked reduction in sulphur, nitrous oxide and carbon emissions. [6] [7] The ship's name was chosen from a shortlist by public ballot on 30 August 2023. [8]
Of the six shipyards biding for fixed price contracts to design and build the two ships, Ferguson Marine (FMEL), owned by Jim McColl, was the only Scottish bidder. During negotiations, the government named FMEL as preferred tenderer, [9] though it had just told CMAL that it could not provide the contractually required bank-backed guarantee. FMEL had already discussed this with Scottish Government ministers, who now decided the government would take on the risks, and the contracts were awarded on 16 October 2015. [10] [11]
The ships were to be delivered by July 2018, but FMEL began construction before providing drawings and plans for approval, with increasing delays when work had to be redone. In July 2017, FMEL denied responsibly and claimed additional costs, CMAL dismissed the claims. The dispute escalated with further delays. FMEL went into administration, [10] [11] and in December 2019 the shipyard was nationalised as Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd., [12] but increasing costs and further lengthy delays became a continuing political scandal, [13] [14] [15] the "ferry fiasco". [16] [17]
The sister ship, Glen Sannox , had been substantially incomplete when launched on 21 November 2017 and moved to the shipyard's Newark Quay, freeing the slipway for the two sections of Hull 802 (Glen Rosa) to be brought together.
Glen Rosa will be the second of two Scottish ferries capable of operating on either marine diesel oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG), aiming at benefits of a marked reduction in carbon dioxide, sulphur and nitrous oxide emissions. [18] The first steel for both ships was cut on 7 April 2016. The first ship, Glen Sannox, was launched on 21 November 2017 by then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. [19]
Glen Rosa was expected to be launched in 2018, and to enter service the following year. [20] However, along with her sister ship, she has been the subject of increased costs and lengthy delays to her construction. Following delays to both ships and nationalisation of the shipyard, the second ferry was estimated in December 2019 to be delivered to CMAL in summer 2022. [21] There were delays due to the pandemic and shortages of skilled labour, and in June 2021 delivery was rescheduled for April 2023 to July 2023. [22] At the start of September 2021, installation of the bulbous bow, as well as stern sections, was reported as marking significant progress. [23]
Further delays in early 2022 saw the delivery date slip to October–December 2023. [24] The ship's delivery date was delayed again in September 2022 to the first quarter of 2024. [25] As of August 2023, the expected launch date was March 2024, with the vessel due to enter service by the end of 2024. [7] [8] By the end of September 2023, however, Ferguson chief executive David Tydeman told the Scottish Government’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee that MV Glen Rosa had been further delayed and that its completion date had been pushed back from the end of 2024 to the end of May 2025. [17]
A public poll was run in August 2023 to choose a name for the vessel, which had previously been referred to as "Hull 802", from a shortlist of Claymore, Glen Cloy and Glen Rosa. [7] Glen Rosa was announced as the name on 31 August 2023, having been selected by 52% out of a total vote of nearly 5,000 entries. [8]
On 10 November 2023, it was announced that the launch date for Glen Rosa had been set as 12 March 2024, but this was later pushed back to 9 April following additional delays to Glen Sannox, [26] which was fitted out at the shipyard's Newark Quay, and had begun sea trials on 13 February. It moved 1.3 miles (2.1 km) downriver to Inchgreen quay, Greenock.
As the ceremonial ship launching neared, Fergusons lacked new orders, and was under threat of closure. Clyde-built ships had dominated international trade a century earlier, now BAE Systems is the only other Clyde shipbuilder. Like many internationally, BAE no longer risk traditional dynamic slipway launches; they use a semi-submersible launch barge or heavy-lift vessel to launch the ships gently in deep water, others build ships in dry docks. This was to be the 363rd ship built at Fergusons since the shipyard was established in 1903, and the heaviest. They had a week of the necessary high tide, which would not occur again until December. [27]
Responding to Inverclyde community interest, the public were invited to attend the launch, with access to the yard "on a first come, first served basis". [28] [29] Crowds filled the allocated areas on 9 April 2024, while hundreds more watched from the adjacent Coronation Park (infilled from the original harbours), Newark Castle grounds and the park to its east (on the former site of Lamont's Castle Yard). [30] [31]
Ferguson Marine interim CEO John Petticrew welcomed the launch as a significant milestone, Scottish Government cabinet secretary Màiri McAllan gave a short speech, local minister Rev. William Boyle blessed the vessel, then after a short delay due to gusting wind, the Glen Rosa was named and launched by Beth Atkinson, a qualified welder who had completed her apprenticeship at the yard the year prior. MSP Stuart McMillan played the bagpipes as the ship went. down the slipway. [32] [33] Tugs then moved the vessel to the shipyard's Newark Quay, which had recently been vacated when Glen Sannox began its sea trials then was moved to the nearby Inchgreen Quay in Greenock. [30]
Glen Rosa was originally ordered to serve on the "Uig Triangle" routes, linking Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist with Uig on Skye. However in October 2022, CMAL ordered two new ferries for this route, named MV Claymore and MV Lochmor, leading to uncertainty about where Glen Rosa would be deployed. [34] In August 2023, CMAL confirmed that she would serve Arran, partnering Glen Sannox, with both dual-fuel vessels allocated to the Ardrossan to Brodick route. [7] The two new Arran ferries will initially operate between Troon and Brodick for the first two or three years of their careers, due to the planned upgrade works for Ardrossan harbour. [35]
The Firth of Clyde is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre Peninsula. The Firth lies between West Dunbartonshire in the north, Argyll and Bute in the west and Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire in the east. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. The Kyles of Bute separates the Isle of Bute from the Cowal Peninsula. The Sound of Bute separates the islands of Bute and Arran.
Port Glasgow is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 states that the population has declined to 15,414. It is located immediately to the east of Greenock and was previously a burgh in the county of Renfrewshire.
Caledonian MacBrayne, in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsidiary of holding company David MacBrayne, which is owned by the Scottish Government.
MV Caledonian Isles, usually referred to locally as the Caley Isles, is one of the largest ships operated by Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), which runs ferries to the Hebridean and Clyde Islands of Scotland. Caledonian Isles serves the Isle of Arran on the Ardrossan to Brodick route. As it is one of CalMac's busiest routes, Caledonian Isles has the largest passenger capacity in the fleet, and can carry up to 1000 passengers and 110 cars, with a crossing time of 55 minutes. She is used extensively by day-trippers to the Isle of Arran during the summer.
The Caledonian MacBrayne fleet is the largest fleet of car and passenger ferries in the United Kingdom, with 34 ferries in operation, 2 on charter and another 6 on order. The company provides lifeline services to 23 islands off the west coast of Scotland, as well as operating routes in the Firth of Clyde.
Ferguson Marine Limited is a shipbuilding company whose yard, located in Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, was established in 1903. It is the last remaining shipbuilder on the lower Clyde and is currently the only builder of merchant ships on the river.
MV Lord of the Isles is one of the larger Caledonian MacBrayne vessels and operates from Mallaig on the west of Scotland. Built in Port Glasgow, she is the most-travelled vessel in the CalMac fleet.
MV Hebrides is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne from Uig to Lochmaddy and Tarbert, the main settlements of North Uist and Harris respectively.
MV Hebridean Isles is a ro-ro vehicle ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne on the west coast of Scotland. She was the first MacBrayne vessel to be ordered and built for them outside Scotland and the first to be launched sideways. With bow, stern and side ramps, Hebridean Isles is suitable for all the routes served by the large fleet units. After 15 years crossing the Little Minch on the Uig triangle, she now serves Islay and Colonsay. She is due to be retired from the fleet in November 2024, after almost 40 years of service.
MV Isle of Arran is a drive-through ferry operated on the west coast of Scotland by Caledonian MacBrayne. Also known by her local nicknames IOA and The Auld Trooper, she entered service in 1984 on the Ardrossan to Brodick route, serving Arran for nine years before being moved to Kennacraig. She returned to her original route in 2012, supplementing MV Caledonian Isles in summer and becoming a relief vessel in winter. In 2013, she started a new pilot route from Ardrossan to Campbeltown, which became a permanent fixture in 2015. As of 2023, she is one of the oldest vessels in the fleet, having been in service for 40 years; upon arriving into Oban in the West Highlands, celebrations were mounted ashore to mark the 40th anniversary of her launch and service on 2 December 2023.
MV Orion is a ro-ro passenger and vehicle ferry. Saturn was operated by Caledonian MacBrayne in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland between 1978 and 2011, for the first decade of her career on the Rothesay crossing. Later, she also saw service on the Dunoon and Brodick crossings, as well as on short cruises around the Clyde.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited owns the ferries, ports, harbours and infrastructure for the ferry services serving the west coast of Scotland, the Firth of Clyde and the Northern Isles.
MV Loch Seaforth is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne between Stornoway and Ullapool. She was launched on 21 March 2014 and entered service in mid-February 2015, replacing both the former vessel, 1995-built MV Isle of Lewis and a chartered freight vessel.
MV Catriona is a diesel electric hybrid passenger and vehicle roll-on, roll-off ferry built for Caledonian MacBrayne for the Claonaig–Lochranza crossing. She is the third hybrid ferry commissioned and owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets, one of three such ferries in the world to incorporate a low-carbon hybrid system of diesel electric and lithium-ion battery power. The ferries are sea-going and are nearly 46 metres (150 ft) long, accommodating 150 passengers, 23 cars or two HGVs.
MV Glen Sannox is a car and passenger ferry constructed at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow for the Scottish Government asset company CMAL to lease to its ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne, planned to serve the Ardrossan to Brodick crossing to the Isle of Arran. It is to be the first of two dual-fuel CalMac ferries, capable of operating on either marine gas oil, or LNG which offers a marked reduction in sulphur, nitrous oxide and carbon emissions. The ship's name, chosen from a shortlist by public ballot on 1 June 2017, recalls an earlier Arran ferry.
MV Loch Frisa is a ferry bought by Caledonian Maritime Assets for operation by Caledonian MacBrayne to serve between Oban and Craignure. She was originally named MV Utne and operated by Norled from 2015 to 2021. In December 2021, following a naming competition, CMAL announced her renaming as MV Loch Frisa.
The Ferry Fiasco is a name given to a controversy relating to the delays and increasing costs of two ferries under construction, MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa, in Scotland. The ferries are being built by Ferguson Marine, for the state-owned ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne under direction of Caledonian Maritime Assets (CMA), Transport Scotland, and the Scottish Government. Originally intended to come into service in 2018 and 2019 respectively, both ferries have been delayed by over five years, and costs have more than trebled to £360 million.
MV Isle of Islay is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger ferry being constructed for use by Caledonian MacBrayne on routes on the west coast of Scotland. She is the first of four ferries being built in Turkey for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, and is expected to be delivered in 2024 for service on routes linking Islay with Kennacraig on the mainland.
MV Claymore is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger ferry currently under construction for use on Caledonian MacBrayne routes on the west coast of Scotland. She is the third of four ferries being built at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, and is expected to be delivered in June 2025 for service on the "Uig Triangle" routes linking Tarbert in Harris and Lochmaddy in North Uist with Uig in Skye.
MV Lochmor is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger ferry currently under construction for use on Caledonian MacBrayne routes on the west coast of Scotland. She is the fourth of four ferries being built at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, and is expected to be delivered in October 2025 for service on the "Uig Triangle" routes linking Tarbert in Harris and Lochmaddy in North Uist with Uig in Skye.