The first of four ferries being built in Turkey for CalMac will be delayed by supply and staffing problems, the Scottish Government’s vessel-owning firm has announced. Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal) said Isle of Islay, which is due to take over sailings to the island next year, was likely to be delivered some two months late at the end of this year. It told MSPs on Thursday said materials and equipment were taking longer to arrive because of unrest around the Red Sea and the war in Ukraine.
In a letter to the Scottish Parliament’s net zero energy and transport committee, Cmal chief executive Kevin Hobbs said: “External challenges have impacted the delivery date for Isle of Islay which will move the delivery date from the previously advised mid-October towards the end of 2024, still within the contractual delivery period. “It is not clear at this present time to provide you and stakeholders with an exact delivery date with the known work still to complete, but initial assessments indicate a couple of months. “Global supply chain events have affected the schedule for the supply and delivery of materials and equipment, which has been challenging for all new build shipbuilding contracts.
“The incursion in the Red Sea means that much of the main equipment is routing around the Horn of Africa, adding many weeks to journey times. “There have been major challenges the yard has had to overcome in the programme: the war in Ukraine affecting the supply of steel .