CalMac ferries crisis: ‘Challenging times’ for another two years – chief executive Robbie Drummond

West coast operator under pressure from ageing fleet until replacements arrive

CalMac will face “challenging times” for another two years until six major new vessels are in service to rejuvenate its ageing and increasingly fault-prone fleet, chief executive Robbie Drummond has said.

The new warning came a day after the newly-appointed interim boss of the Ferguson Marine shipyard confirmed there was likely to be yet another delay to one of the largest of the new ferries – Glen Sannox – which should have been in service on CalMac’s busiest route six years ago.

John Petticrew, who replaced widely-respected David Tydeman after he was unexpectedly fired on Tuesday, said there were “undoubtedly some challenges” to completing the ship’s liquefied natural gas system (LNG) by the end of May. He will provide an update in two weeks.

31-year-old Caledonian Isles has been out of service since January and is not due to return until mid-June following major steelwork repairs. (Photo by John Devlin/The Scotsman)

Glen Sannox is due to be deployed on the main Arran route to Brodick in late summer following two months of CalMac trials, with sister vessel Glen Rosa joining it a year later.

In stark contrast, four other ferries being built for CalMac in Turkey for the Islay and Skye-North Uist-Harris routes are on time and budget, and due in service between November and October next year.

WATCH: Isle of Islay ferry set to serve Inner Hebrides launched in Turkey

Mr Drummond, writing in CalMac parent company David MacBrayne’s 2022-23 annual report, published on Friday, said it “continues to face several growing challenges which are affecting our commitment to provide the best ferry service as possible to our customers.”

He said more than one third of CalMac’s 35 vessels were beyond their 30-year life expectancy, which meant “they require more and more maintenance and are more liable to suffer technical failures.

"It can also be difficult to source parts for the older vessels because they are no longer manufactured, meaning more time is spent having to have specific parts made from scratch.

“We are aware that we will continue to face challenging times over the next two years until these new vessels start to join us.”

CalMac’s oldest vessel, Isle of Cumbrae, is 47 years old.

Mr Drummond said the tough outlook had followed another year which had been “extremely challenging for our customers”, with several large ferries vessels out of service for months.

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David MacBrayne chair Erik Østergaard said CalMac – the UK largest ferry operator – was also being stretched by increasing traffic.

He said: “The demand for ferry services is increasing each year, however our capacity levels are not increasing in line with this, which often leads to frustration for our customers – whether they are islanders, business owners, or holidaymakers.”

The number of sailings increased in 2022-23 to a three-year high of 170,000, which carried 5 million passengers and 1.4m cars – also the most since pre-pandemic 2019-20.

Scottish Government-owned CalMac received £170.5m in state support and generated £70m in revenue, most from fares.

The latest delay to Glen Sannox is believed to involve pipework for the LNG system, which will be used along with traditional diesel to power the vessel.

Ferguson Marine has previously said sections had been wrongly installed by previous yard managements and it had since faced faced difficulties sourcing parts.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Wellbeing Economy Secretary [Mairi McAllan] will be stressing that any further delays must be kept to an absolute minimum."