THE destination for one of Ferguson Marine's infamously overdue and overbudget CalMac ferries was set to a well-known ship scrapyard in India by an anonymous prankster.

Glen Sannox, which is currently moored in Port Glasgow, had its destination set to Alang in India.

Alang is home to a ship-breaking yard in the west of India and is considered to be one of the biggest ship graveyards in the world.

A Ferguson Marine spokesperson confirmed that the vessel would not be making the 4,500 mile trip to the scrapyard.

They said: “Glen Sannox is being readied to go to dry dock later this month for the final stages of her fit-out prior to sea trials and handover to the Scottish Government and CalMac.”

It's understood one of the workforce was behind the joke which came to light today.

MV Glen Sannox and sister ship Glen Rosa are already more than six years late.

The ferries are set to come in at over £350m to construct, way beyond the initial budget of £97m.

George Allison, who runs the UK Defence Journal website, spotted the prank on marine traffic websites.

He posted online: “Glen Sannox has destination set for scrapyard - someone onboard the ferry MV Glen Sannox has, apparently, set its destination as Alang in India.

“For those unaware, Alang is famous for its shipbreaking yards, where more than 1,500 ships per year are dismantled and recycled.

“This is being broadcast by the onboard AIS. The automatic identification system, or AIS, transmits a ship's position, speed, destination and other data so that other ships are aware of its position."

 

Glen Sannox is currently due for delivery in March 2024 but it's not known if she will be ready in time to start service next summer.

The Tele reported last month how a launch date of March 12 had been set for Glen Rosa.