THE handover of overdue and overbudget fiasco ferry Glen Sannox has been delayed yet again - after crucial components were not delivered on time.

In a double blow, Ferguson Marine chief executive David Tydeman has also revealed that the launch of the vessel’s sister ship, MV Glen Rosa, has also been pushed back, to April, in order to accommodate ‘critical’ work on Glen Sannox in March.

The yard say they are currently evaluating the impact the latest delay and any further slippage could have on the overall cost to complete the two vessels.

READ MORE: Ferguson ferry MV Glen Sannox to start sea trials this month

The news emerged in an update sent to the Scottish Parliament's Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee convenor Edward Mountain.

In it the shipyard boss explains that specialist components which were required for Glen Sannox’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) system were due to be delivered in the last quarter of 2023.

The delivery date was missed, and an alternative specialist company was brought in at the beginning of January, with installation of the new system set to be completed by the middle of March.

Greenock Telegraph: Glen Sannox leaves Dales Marine, for Ferguson Marine..

Once the new system is installed, the dual fuel engine supplier will then commence final testing and commissioning of the system, a process which the yard has been advised will take around 10 weeks.

Mr Tydeman states: “Despite our best efforts to mitigate risks around timelines, this will have a bearing on the final handover of Glen Sannox.

“We are evaluating the risks to further slippage on the planned late May handover date for Glen Sannox, the cascade impacts onto Hull 802 and the overall costs to complete impacts for both ships.”

The update adds: “In the context of reducing risk of delays to Glen Sannox, we have decided to move the launch date for Hull 802 from March 12 to the next suitable high tide date of April 9.

“This has no impact on the programme for Hull 802 (Glen Rosa) however it allows critical work on Glen Sannox in March to be carried out close to the Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow engineering office and more efficiently alongside the quay in the shipyard.

“Glen Sannox is booked for dry-docking April 3 to 7 and will then move to the Inchgreen quayside as the operating base for further sea trials and the rest of the programme to handover.”

The yard had previously stated that handover of the Glen Sannox was scheduled for this March and the ferry is set to begin sea trials in the middle of this month.

Latest estimates suggest the cost of delivering the two vessels could be more than quadruple the original £97m contract which was awarded in 2015, when the yard was led by businessman Jim McColl.

The ferry will run on a dual fuel diesel/LNG system when launched and during bunkering very low temperature air will be discharged from its on-board storage tank.

As a result, the entire LNG system requires specialist ‘cryo-steels’ to operate, which is why the yard required an outside firm to design and install the piping system on-board the Glen Sannox.