GLEN SANNOX

Allgemeine Informationen

Kurs/Position

Die neuesten Nachrichten

Ferry handover further pushed back

The 'Glen Sannox' may not be completed until June, with CalMac needing two months to familiarise the ship, leaving islanders without the new vessel until after the tourist season is complete, due to further delays in its construction. The 'Glen Sannox' was meant to begin service on the Ardrossan to Arran route back in 2019 but has been littered with building issues. Issues with the engine system were the reason for the postponement as the shipyard struggled to find a company to install the LNG technology needed for it to be environmentally-friendly. It will run on diesel until this is sorted. The ferry is scheduled to be ready in June now, instead of May, but will need to undertake familiarisation work for two months with CalMac, pushing back the date it can actually serve passengers into potentially September, after the tourist rush. The yard will be practically complete building the ship by the end of March and commissioning will run through in the months afterwards, mainly on the LNG system. The rest of the time in April-May will be handover trials and further testing, and client [Scottish Government ferry-owning firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited] acceptance trial, with the handover before the end of May or in June.

Ferry starts trials six years late

Six years later than planned the 'Glen Sannox' started the engines on Feb 13, 2024, for a series of significant sea trials in the Firth of Clyde. A second set of equally important trials are expected to be undertaken at a later date, next time it will be on behalf of CMAL, the Scottish Government agency which ordered the ship along with her sister ship 'Glen Rosa' eight years ago. CMAL has the right of refusal if it believes the vessel is not up to standard. The delivery of the dual fuel vessel to CMAL and CalMac is already delayed again to late May following difficulties in getting specialist cooling pipe work for its onboard LNG gas fuel system. The 'Glen Sannox' was likely to be accompanied by two tugs, one with a line attached in case of any mishaps, as she operates in the deep water and wider space beyond the Tail of the Bank sandbank. During these initial trials, the vessel will gather pace, slow down and stop many times. The main onboard machinery will also be monitored. Another earmarked location to carry out performance monitoring is between Skelmorlie and Great Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde. The vessel was expected to return to her own berth at Port Glasgow at the end of each day’s trial. Endurance tests with the 'Glen Sannox' operatnig at higher speeds for longer periods of time - will form part of a further trials programme scheduled for after her dry-docking in April. In November, the vessel passed a week-long series of successful dock trials demonstrating the ship's propulsion, navigation, and communication capabilities. The ship received the seal of approval and sign-off from CMAL, and Lloyd's Register. Both ferries should have been in service in 2018 on the lifeline ferry routes operated by CalMac, under the original contract between the Scottish Government and Ferguson Marine. Building costs have regularly increased and are in excess of £300 million total compared to the original price tag of £97 million. Report with photo: http://www.hebrides-news.com/moment-of-truth-arrives-for-glen-sannox-ferry-13224.html?fbclid=IwAR2ffSMie7-FRhm0U_z6tjGk8AEmxhuVA9zwHuhnm3889QSn0YSti6Mkg-I

Delivery of ferry suffers another setback

The 'Glen Sannox', which is being built on the Clyde has suffered a further setback after health and safety intervened to demand extra staircases and wider doors. Meeting the requirements of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will mean the handover of the ferry from the Ferguson Marine shipyard will be delayed until next year. The vessel was due to be handed to ferry operator CalMac by the end of 2ß23, and go into service in the early part of 2024 but because of the new demands it may not be available for the beginning of the summer 2024 timetable in April. A confirmation was awaited on whether changes demanded by MCA will affect unnamed Hull 802 which is also under construction at Ferguson. The sea trials for the 'Glen Sannox' will move into the first quarter of2024, while commissioning of a liquefied natural gas system is being put back until after Christmas.