Taxpayers have spent £3.5million in paying the salaries for crew on a Scottish delayed ferry - despite it not carrying a single passenger.
The Scottish Goverment hired 14 staff to work on the MV Glen Sannox in 2022, thinking that it was six months from completion. However, it ended up being over-budget and delayed.
After two years, the crew in question haven't started the job they were recruited to do, yet have been paid the huge sum in wages. Scottish Lib Dem economy spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said: “I have my head in my hands. Yet more money wasted on these dreaded ferries.
"We know there were discussions about possible construction delays when CalMac decided to employ the crew members, which makes it particularly troubling that they pushed ahead with recruitment regardless. Bills, delays and disruptions are all islanders and taxpayers have ever known from these ferries. As one of his first acts, John Swinney must get a grip of this never-ending ferry fiasco.”
Amid a backdrop of numerous construction delays, the Glen Sannox has yet to enter service. The total wage bill includes three captains and 11 engineers while a further five officers were taken on last year.
The ship, along with another vessel - the Glen Rosa - were due to be handed over in 2018. As well as that, the cost has grown from an initial estimate of £97million to over £360million. Scottish Labour Transport spokesperson Alex Rowley said “The SNP’s woeful mismanagement of this ferry project has left islanders stranded and taxpayers picking up the tab.
“Workers on both the ferry and at the shipyard have been left in the lurch by this incompetent SNP government and the chaos it has created. There must be no more delays or added costs to the delivery of these lifeline ferries.”
The Daily Record reported that Scottish Conservative shadow transport minister Graham Simpson MSP said: “CalMac must have crew ready for these vessels. The problem, of course, is that they have taken so long to build.
“CalMac were doing the right thing but they have been let down, as have our islanders, by this whole fiasco. It is just another example of how money has been wasted during this flawed project.”
Exclusive drone footage taken by the Sunday Mail showed the vessel docked on the Clyde near Ferguson Marine shipyard at Port Glasgow. However, just a handful of workers were seen on the ship - which has been undergoing sea trials.
Duncan Mackison, interim CEO of CalMac, said it is normal for senior crew to be hired six months before a new ferry is launched. He said: “A number of senior crew already recruited to operate MV Glen Sannox have been working hard on both preparing the vessel for service and supporting existing CalMac operations.
“Three Masters and 11 engineers joined CalMac in February 2022, at a time when MV Glen Sannox was scheduled to be delivered in July 2022. An additional five officer roles were filled in November 2023, at a time when delivery was expected between March and May 2024.
“Senior crew members for any new vessel are required to attend the yard where the vessel is being built. Roles such as masters and senior engineers play a critical part in getting vessels ready to enter service and have developed operating procedures, work instructions and vessel familiarisation for MV Glen Sannox.
“Time for all of this is factored into recruitment and the crew members we have recruited have spent a significant amount of time at Ferguson Marine. They have provided cover and relief on other major vessels in our fleet at various points, allowing us to maintain services across the CalMac network.
“The recruitment process for a new vessel’s crew is staggered, beginning with senior positions approximately six months in advance and progressively filling other roles as the delivery and then deployment date approached. The full crew is typically only in place four weeks prior to delivery.
"CalMac looks forward to taking delivery of MV Glen Sannox and getting her operationally ready to enter service and improve the service we provide to and from Arran. We have not recruited any crew for MV Glen Rosa yet and will follow due process as we have done with MV Glen Sannox."
Despite beginning sea trials earlier this year, the Glen Sannox's delivery was delayed another two moths in April, while the Glen Rosa is still under construction. The initial trials revealed that the vessel was found to "gather pace, slow down and stop many times."
Labour peer Lord Robertson, who was chairman of privately owned Western Ferries, has told MSPs taxpayers are “being robbed” over the fiasco.
The ferries will be the first ever built to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, problems associated with the complex technology has fuelled many of the delays. The LNG has to be kept at -162C to remain in liquid form and the shipyard is dependent on specialist contractors for much of the work on its special insulated fuel tank and cryogenic pipework.