SNP minister to attend as second delayed CalMac ferry is finally launched at Ferguson Marine

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An SNP minister will attend the launch of the second delayed and over-budget ferry next week.Wellbeing Economy Secretary Mairi McAllan will launch the MV Glen Rosa from the Ferguson Marine yard in Port Glasgow on Tuesday.The ferry and its sister vessel the Glen Sannox have been a running political sore for the Scottish Government and the publicly-owned yard.Repeated delays and cost overruns have run into multiple hundreds of millions of pounds.McAllan will be joined the yard’s interim chief executive John Petticrew and head of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) Kevin Hobbs.

CMAL is the publicly-backed owner of the ferry.The ferry will need to undergo trials before its handover, which is expected in September.The former head of the shipyard David Tydeman was sacked last month over “performance-related issues”, as further delays to the ferries were expected.Under questioning in Parliament last week, McAllan was unable to say how long the delays are expected to be.Following the firing of Tydeman, the chief executive of state-owned ferry operator CalMac Robbie Drummond was also removed from his post this week.First Minister Humza Yousaf said ministers did not order the sackings.He said: “No, these are independent decisions by the board.“Let’s be clear – both Mairi and I have been very clear with boards, be it the board of Fergusons, be it our colleagues at CMAL or CalMac, that we expect delivery.“We expect there to be a laser-like focus on delivery for our island communities.”He said he has full confidence in Hobbs – the current head of CMAL.He added: “Any decisions around the management are for the board of these organisations to make.“Our direction – from myself, from Mairi McAllan and the Transport Cabinet