Scotland's Troubled Ferry MV Glen Sannox Out of Service Over 100 Days
A new ferry delivered six years late and massively over budget has been out of action for more than 100 days since entering service just over a year ago. The MV Glen Sannox was formally handed over to operator CalMac last year to boost its ageing fleet and provide an improved, reliable service for islanders, but it has failed to live up to expectations.
Chronic Service Disruptions
The vessel, which serves the island of Arran, did not sail on 102 of the 383 operating days available since arriving on the West Coast in January 2025. This comes just days after it was revealed that the ship is likely to be out of service for a further three months at the end of the year, needing new propellers and other work at a cost of £3.2 million.
Problems began shortly after its first sailing when a one-inch crack in the hull, thought to be caused by vibrations from its propellers, was discovered. The ferry's annual 52-day overhaul at the end of last year had to be extended by an additional 33 days, accounting for much of the downtime.
Multiple Causes for Outages
During its first year, the UK's first dual-fuel vessel was out of action due to pre-planned maintenance, technical faults, and the closure of the linkspan at Troon harbour for essential maintenance. Weather cancellations have also contributed to the disruptions.
Given that the cost of building the Glen Sannox and its sister ship MV Glen Rosa spiralled to around £400 million—four times over budget—Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Sue Webber called the amount of time out of service "outrageous and scarcely believable."
Impact on Islanders and Businesses
Webber added, "Having already waited over seven years for the Glen Sannox to set sail, islanders astonishingly still cannot rely on this lifeline ferry when they need it. They are sick and tired of the SNP's ferries fiasco and just want reliable ferries that can get them to work and hospital appointments."
Businesses on Arran report a noticeable drop in footfall, with some estimating ferry cancellations and delays have cost them around a third of their usual custom. One anonymous business owner cited a lack of public confidence as a key issue, saying, "A lot of our business is people coming over for the day or a weekend getaway, but with the cancellations, people don't have confidence to come anymore. If they get stuck here, it's going to cost them a lot on accommodation... it's certainly affected us."
Another business echoed this, noting reduced footfall and negative impacts from changes to ferry connections.
Political and Operational Fallout
Scottish Labour Transport spokesman Daniel Johnson said it "beggars belief that a ferry that was years late and nearly five times over-budget has been unavailable more than a quarter of the time since it came into use." He added that while the Glen Sannox sits in dock for repairs, islanders face ferry chaos and taxpayers foot the bill.
Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Jamie Greene remarked, "I struggle to think what more can go wrong with the Glen Sannox... Ask the SNP for a ferry and they'll give you a shambles."
Government and Operator Responses
The Scottish Government stated that from a "health, safety, and reliability basis, it is essential that maintenance and repairs are carried out when needed." A spokesman added that the arrival of 13 new vessels to the CalMac fleet will improve reliability and allow operation in more challenging conditions.
CalMac reported that "more than 94 per cent of sailings scheduled on the Ardrossan-Brodick route operated successfully between January 2025 and January 2026." A spokesman noted that MV Glen Sannox operated for 74 per cent of this time, with planned work accounting for over half of the downtime, including extended annual overhaul and warranty work by Ferguson's. Most unplanned cancellations were due to poor weather.
Broader Ferry Issues
In related news, Highland Council confirmed last week that its ship MV Corran developed a fault less than 24 hours after returning to service. The ferry, which runs on Loch Linnhe, resumed sailing after an extensive refit but was withdrawn the next day due to a technical issue. Engineers are carrying out repairs, with a relief vessel covering the route until further notice.
The Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa were built to take over the busiest route on the West Coast from Ardrossan to Brodick on Arran. However, the ships are too large to berth safely in Ardrossan and will sail from Troon until the harbour redevelopment is completed. The Glen Rosa is not due to enter service until at least the end of this year.
