MV Glen Rosa (Delivery)
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the MV Glen Rosa will now not be delivered until the second quarter of 2026, with costs estimated to increase by up to £35 million.
Ferguson Marine has advised that the revised delivery date and the cost increase stem from historic failures in project planning, poor sequencing of work and a loss of focus during the delivery of the MV Glen Sannox. The situation is wholly unacceptable, and I have communicated that in the most direct and robust way that I can to the yard’s leadership.
Earlier this year, the former chief executive officer of Ferguson Marine, John Petticrew, told the Public Audit Committee that there was a risk of further delays to the Glen Rosa, but this is far worse than we could ever have imagined. It is delayed until June 2026, and both vessels are set to cost upwards of £460 million. CalMac Ferries routes have already been pushed to the limit thanks to an ageing fleet, and islanders were counting on the delivery of that lifeline vessel.
When was the Deputy First Minister informed that the Glen Rosa would be delayed further? Did ministerial pressure and perhaps the poor sequencing of work on, or cannibalisation of, the Glen Rosa to complete the Glen Sannox factor in the latest delay? Will the new chief executive officer of Ferguson Marine be yet another scapegoat for the Scottish National Party’s failure to deliver this lifeline ferry on time and on budget?
Let me be very clear that this is not a question of scapegoats; this is about holding all parties to account for the delivery that is required. I have been clear that that delivery needs to happen with urgency, discipline and full accountability.
In the past few weeks, I have put in place rigorous oversight to hold people fully to account on those issues. We have established a small review team, with involvement from Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, to ensure that we can scrutinise the delivery plan in detail. That is proceeding right now.
There is a weekly review group with CMAL and Scottish Government officials, and I have made clear my expectations of the new chief executive and the board. I met the new chief executive to communicate that shortly before he started at the end of April.
Bill Calderwood, from the Isle of Arran ferry committee, said:
“The community are at a loss at what more can be said about the continued examples of mismanagement on this project.”
He also said:
“The programme has gone from delay to delay with little, or no, obvious consequences for the management of the company or others involved in these failures.”
After years of repeated delays, enormous cost overruns and a revolving door of senior figures at Ferguson Marine and CalMac, not one SNP minister has been shown the door. That is an insult to islanders and taxpayers.
There cannot be any more delays—islanders are sick to the back teeth of this. What more will the Deputy First Minister do to further ensure that the ferry is delivered on or before April 2026, and will anyone ever be held accountable for this SNP-made crisis?
On the member’s final point, I agree with her, having communicated to the yard’s leadership that there can be no more delays.
This morning, I met the shop stewards, union members and workers themselves, and we agreed a number of additional actions that will amplify their voices in the process to ensure that the issues that they identify as impacting on the timescales are escalated immediately to ensure that there is maximum accountability and oversight, and that action is taken on any issues that emerge.
Sue Webber started her last question by talking about islanders. I am in no doubt that she will appreciate that I represent some of those islands, and I assure her that my inbox reflects the frustrations that she has just articulated on behalf of Bill Calderwood. Islanders need a resilient ferry network, and the Glen Rosa needs to be delivered as quickly as possible.
We have implemented the additional oversight steps and the review groups, and we have agreed additional actions with the shop stewards. I am very happy to work with any member in the chamber if there are specific actions that I should take to ensure that there is that maximum scrutiny. The board also reports to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, which is absolutely right and proper, so there is parliamentary oversight as well.
The bottom line, however, is that the final vessel needs to be delivered as quickly as possible.
There is a lot of interest, and concise questions and answers will enable more members to be involved.
The Glen Rosa is destined for the Brodick route, but until Ardrossan harbour is redeveloped, she and her sister ship, the Glen Sannox, will only make three return sailings each day from Troon, rather than five from Ardrossan.
Eighteen months ago, I advocated using the Islay-class vessels for the Brodick route in the short term, until redevelopment of Ardrossan harbour could begin. Although those vessels have only 53 per cent of the capacity of the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa, that would be offset by an increased number of sailings and better accessibility through Ardrossan.
Given the latest delay and added uncertainty about the Glen Rosa entering service, will the Deputy First Minister urge CalMac and CMAL to reconsider that option?
We absolutely understand the views of Kenny Gibson and the wider community in favour of retaining Ardrossan as the mainland port, and we remain committed to ensuring that the Arran ferry service is fit for the future.
I agree that all options should be considered, and that Transport Scotland should work with CalMac and CMAL to deliver best use of the available resources across the network and to consider all options to maintain services and reduce disruption.
Obviously there are limitations of physical and operational fit on routes, which need careful consideration, but, in spite of those caveats, I think that all options should be considered.
I feel that I have gone back in time to three years ago, when the cabinet secretary said the exact same thing about unacceptable delays. The whole ferries fiasco has been the result of a lack of leadership and inconsistent management from owners, agencies and Government ministers. Not one of those supposed leaders has taken responsibility; meanwhile, islanders and workers have been subjected to buck passing and a merry-go-round of ministers and turnaround directors.
What leadership is the Scottish Government finally going to show to get the ferries finished and secure a future for the yard? On that point, when will the investment to improve efficiencies at the yard that was promised by the Scottish Government be delivered?
On that final point, the member will know that that money has been allocated in the budget this year—it is to go towards the improvements that the board has identified. We are committed to distributing that funding as soon as possible. That has to be done in collaboration with the board, which will determine the improvements that are required.
With regard to the other steps that we have taken, I outlined some of them to Sue Webber, but I will go through them again. We have taken immediate steps to establish a weekly review group with CMAL and Scottish Government officials to scrutinise the delivery plan. I have asked for additional steps, including for the new chief executive, who has only been in post since 1 May, to consider the plan.
A number of actions have been agreed this morning with shop stewards to amplify their voice, because they are often on the ground, identifying issues that might have a knock-on impact on build.
At the moment, there is union representation at the board meetings, where the representatives get an opportunity to pose questions. I want to see a feedback loop, as it were, of issues being escalated immediately so that they can then be resolved. As I said—
Briefly, please, Deputy First Minister.
As I said to the Conservative MSP, if there are further steps that we, as the shareholder, can take to ensure that there is maximum scrutiny and review of the plan at board level, I am very happy to listen to members.
For clarification, I say to the Deputy First Minister that the last time that Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) reported to the committee was in October 2024. The only reason that we have the dates that we have now is because Ferguson Marine was threatened with being asked to come before the committee if it would not reply to our successive letters.
Andrew Miller, chairman of Ferguson Marine, sacked his first CEO because of delays and increasing costs. The second one whom he appointed left after six months. The latest one took over and had to announce further delays. Does the Deputy First Minister have confidence in Andrew Miller? I do not think that many other people do.
I understand the frustration that has been expressed by the member, as the convener of the committee to which the board is accountable, and by the committee, about timely responses, and also about the latest delay.
There has been a need for consistent leadership of Ferguson Marine. I am pleased with the appointment of Graeme Thomson as the new chief executive. He brings decades of commercial experience of building vessels and I hope that he will apply that to the completion of the Glen Rosa.
I expect the board of Ferguson Marine to demonstrate strong leadership, grip and full accountability for delivering the MV Glen Rosa without further delay or cost escalation. I have underlined that robustly to the leadership team.
I thank the Deputy First Minister for meeting the two shop stewards and me earlier today. The discussion covered many different areas and issues in the yard. I am very much assured by the actions that were agreed to between the Deputy First Minister and the shop stewards. Can she confirm to the chamber that she will continue to have regular dialogue with the shop stewards as we move forward and try to turn the yard around?
I thank the member for arranging this morning’s meeting with the shop stewards. The content that was shared with me by the shop stewards was very powerful, and the emotion of a workforce that knows that their talent and skills are not the reason for the latest delay was evident. They want to ensure that there is a commercial future for Ferguson Marine. That relies on the timely delivery of the Glen Rosa, so the stakes are high. I agreed with the shop stewards that I would have regular dialogue with them, that I would put a number of items that they had raised with me directly to the board, and that I would look at what other steps on reassurance and scrutiny that we can incorporate, including looking at whether third parties can provide scrutiny for us.
I commend Graeme Thomson as an excellent appointment. I worked with him on the delivery of HMS Duncan in 2012, and he is a very competent programme director.
The issue is that, fundamentally, the yard is driven by milestone payments, and a big milestone payment was the delivery of the Glen Sannox. It was known as long ago as October that, in order to deliver the Glen Sannox, the yard had to cannibalise parts from the Glen Rosa and put man hours from the Glen Rosa into the Glen Sannox. Is it not the case that trade-offs have to be accepted, given the complex nature of the programme? That the Government, as the main shareholder, is not sighted on those issues is a problem. Perhaps there is an issue with the chairman continuing to sack directors and chief executive officers without proper management handovers or a proper understanding of the trade-offs and difficulties that the programme is enduring.
The member raises an interesting point. We will all know of the immense pressure on the Government and Ferguson Marine to deliver the Glen Sannox—quite rightly, because it was overdue, it had been delayed and island communities were relying on it. I am pleased and relieved that the Glen Sannox is now serving our island routes, but Ferguson Marine’s letter is quite clear that that meant that all focus was on the Glen Sannox, to the detriment of the Glen Rosa.
The member also asked about the actions of the chair of the board. I politely suggest that the board is ultimately accountable for ensuring that the leadership team delivers, not just according to key milestones, but to the timetables that are provided and to budget. It is right and proper that I communicate with the board directly and robustly, but the board is also accountable for who serves in primary leadership roles in order to deliver the results that we want to see, which is the Glen Rosa serving the island communities, as the Glen Sannox is currently doing.
I was pleased to hear the cabinet secretary say that it is not the fault of the workers. That leaves the leadership. Who appointed the leadership? Who brought in the new owner of the yard? Who bought the yard? It was the Scottish Government, yet the cabinet secretary acts as though it is nothing to do with her. The soaring costs mean that it is now £1 million per worker to build those two ferries.
With all the things that she said about the performance of the Government when she was on the back benches, is Kate Forbes surprised that not one minister has resigned as a result of the fiasco?
I understand the strength of Willie Rennie’s question. I humbly suggest that the fact that I am answering questions here, and I have stated quite clearly the actions that I have taken, suggests that I am not in any way shirking the responsibility of the Government or myself, in my current brief, with regard to holding to account the board, which in turn holds the leadership to account.
I have been crystal clear with the board about what I expect, and I am extremely disappointed to be answering questions here today, not because I think that the questions are wrong but because of the additional delay that has prompted those questions.
Those island communities need, demand and require the Glen Rosa to be serving them. My priority is to ensure that all additional scrutiny and review steps that can be implemented are implemented, so that the timetable is delivered on, as the leadership have suggested that it will be, and so that we get the Glen Rosa out on the seas as quickly as possible.
As I have said to other parties, if members of Parliament require further information and communication over and above the accountability that already exists between the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee and the board, I am willing to explore that.
When he gave the green light for these contracts, John Swinney hailed the absence of any banana skins. After the latest cost increase and delay, how would Kate Forbes rate John Swinney’s ability to spot banana skins?
I am going to be very open about the challenges that those contracts have faced. I have previously apologised to communities and I will apologise again, because the additional delays are completely unacceptable, as are the budget increases.
Kate Forbes is having the mickey taken out of her. Can she tell us which budget she is going to raid to fund the latest increase?
Obviously, that additional increase will be met from the Government’s budget. Earlier today, I had a conversation with the Finance and Public Administration Committee about how we will meet that increase. Clearly, the Government balances its budget every year, so we will meet those costs.
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