Arran ferry services suspended after MV Glen Sannox hit by new fault

Ferries on the main route to Arran are suspended due to a new technical problem with the CalMac ship MV Glen Sannox, just a week after it returned to service.

Sailings between Troon and Brodick have been cancelled since Monday afternoon due to a warning light issue with the ship's port main engine.

The ferry returned to the Troon to Brodick route last week after a three-month absence due to an extended annual overhaul and remedial work to tackle a vibration issue.

The other main Arran ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, is also out of action, and a chartered catamaran which provides back-up for the route is away for scheduled maintenance.

CalMac said the new fault on Glen Sannox followed the fitting of a spare part.

A spokesperson said the ship appeared to be running well, but as it approached Troon "the oil mist detector alarm for the port main engine came on again".

CalMac later confirmed the cancellation of the first services departing Troon and Brodick on Wednesday.

The company also said MV Caledonian Isles would depart Inchgreen dock in Greenock on Wednesday morning to commence sea trials.

If successful, the service is expected to resume with the 12:30 departing Ardrossan.

Glen Sannox, the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual fuel ferry to be built in the UK, entered service in January 2025 after years of delays and cost overruns.

The ship won praise from ferry users, but a few months later a small weld crack was detected in the hull at the aft end of the ship.

An investigation revealed this was caused by excessive vibration when the ship was manoeuvring.

Last week, MSPs were told the underlying cause of the vibration was the design of the propellers which suffer from excessive cavitation - a build up of air bubbles - when the ship is moving astern.

The Finnish firm Wartsila which designed and supplied the propellers is now working on a modified design which will be fitted later this year. In the meantime, extra steel has been fitted to Glen Sannox to strengthen the hull.

The total cost of the remedial work on the ship and its sister ship Glen Rosa could total up £3.2m, the MSPs were told. It is understood this will be met by the state owned Ferguson shipyard, which built the ship, under warranty.

The other large CalMac ferry that normally operates to Arran, MV Caledonian Isles, is also out of action until Wednesday, when it is expected to resume with the 12:30 sailing from Ardrossan to Brodick if it passes sea trials on Wednesday morning.

The 33-year-old ship has also been hit with technical faults, but has now been cleared to return to service with weather restrictions.

CalMac has also been chartering a catamaran, MV Alfred, for nearly three years to provide resilience on the Arran route, but the vessel is currently away for its own annual maintenance.

An alternative Arran route using a small ferry from Lochranza to Claonaig on the Kintyre peninsula has been running, but the last sailing will be at 13:00 on Tuesday due to poor weather conditions.

Glen Sannox had been due to head north this week for berthing trials to see if it could be used for Little Minch routes, but these were held back to cover cancelled Caledonian Isles sailings.

The vessel entered service in January last year, more than six years later than expected, after a long history of design challenges and disputes between the Ferguson shipyard's former owners and government-owned ferries agency CMAL.

The deadlock eventually led to shipyard being nationalised in 2019.