Glen Sannox: CalMac's newest ferry out of action for second time for repairs to crack in hull
CalMac’s second largest vessel to be tied up for at least four days
CalMac’s newest ferry has been taken out of service for the second time - fewer than ten months since carrying its first passengers.
Glen Sannox has been out of action since Sunday. The vessel is not expected to return until at least Thursday or Friday, pending work on a weld to a crack in the ferry’s hull that triggered temporary repairs in March.
CalMac said a “full and permanent” repair had been scheduled for the vessel’s annual maintenance overhaul this winter.
The ferry has been moved to the Inchgreen dock in Greenock, leaving a single-vessel service between Troon and Brodick in Arran, operated by the catamaran Alfred.
But passengers travelling to and from Arran’s main settlement - one of CalMac’s busiest routes - can also sail via Ardrossan after veteran ferry Caledonian Isles returned to service on Wednesday last week after 20 months of repairs.
CalMac said the new defect “appears to be in way of the weld repair, which was completed in March”. The repairs are estimated to take 24 hours once the work starts.
The ferry operator said: “All going well, we estimate the vessel will return to full service on Thursday or Friday this week, based on the currently available information.
“The repair completed in March was agreed as a temporary repair, which was subject to a planned full and permanent repair in the scheduled 2025-26 annual overhaul maintenance period.
“An investigation will be completed to establish the root cause of this defect recurrence.”
The ferry was out of service for two days in March after a 13cm (5in) “minor” defect was found in its hull close to the waterline. This included a 2.5cm (1in) section that had let in a “very small amount of water”, CalMac said at the time.
Holes were drilled at each end of the crack to prevent it expanding and the seam was re-sealed. The defect was found to the right of machinery space near the starboard [right] rudder.
CalMac told The Scotsman in March it might have been caused by vibration detected in that area of the ship.
The ferry, which is CalMac’s second biggest with space for 850 passengers and 127 cars, entered service in January after being completed by the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow six-and-a-half years late.
A CalMac spokesperson said on Wednesday: “Glen Sannox has been removed from service due to an emergent issue, which relates to the previously repaired hull weld defect. Shore-based engineers and a surveyor have attended the vessel to review the defect and agree upon a repair plan.
“To prevent operational conflicts at Brodick, the vessel has been repositioned to Inchgreen dock to allow completion of the repairs.”
The spokesperson said the ferry would be out of service for longer than during the March repairs because of the need to move the ship to and from Greenock, specialists arriving on site, and the weld needing at least 24 hours to cool down once finished.
The previous repairs were carried out in Brodick, which could not be used again because Caledonian Isles is back in service from there.
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