Ferry fiasco

Sir, Once again I feel moved to write to the Banner concerning the new MV Glen Sannox.

Had I known that a public meeting was being convened, I would surely have attended. I would have had some pertinent questions for the yard representatives, a few of which I would now pose together with some remarks on the report of the meeting.

At the outset, the contract for the vessels would require an agreed cardinal date programme (CDP) showing key dates of construction and outfitting together with delivery dates after trials. This programme normally also indicates when stage payments are due.

So, has a new CDP been agreed between owner and builder without the application of late delivery penalties? If so, the yard is in the clear, providing of course that it adheres to the new programme. But have they?

What stage payments have been made and how did they match with the original CDP? I understand that the yard as part of the contract were obliged to lodge a £50m performance bond; what is the status of this now and is there a danger of it being called?

Mr Dunn claimed 99 per cent fabrication of Glen Sannox had been completed. This is meaningless unless a commensurate amount of outfitting is complete which as I have stated should be reflected in the CDP.

Mr Morgan alluded to the bulbous bow ‘being requested’ - by whom? The bulbous bow will be necessary as an element of the underwater hull form such that the vessel will achieve its contract speed of 18 knots and would be defined at model tank tests prior to detailed design. What changed?

A recurring theme seems to have been ‘these vessels are prototypes’. Gas powered technology is not new and safety of life at sea (SOLAS) fully covers the regulations to be applied.

Yes, I know the Marine and Coastguard Agency can be difficult in the application of these and will also be on a learning curve. The yard would be well aware of this and of their own design responsibilities.

These vessels (we hear nothing of the second) owe more to the altar of the Scottish Government’s green agenda. Some hope!

Gas transported all the way from the far east, tankered by road from Tilbury to some as yet defined storage facility adjacent to the appropriate Scottish terminal, ending up propelling a hull form more akin to that of a bulk carrier and at a speed well in excess of the present vessels on the route.

Do I smell a contingency plan for the new Glen Sannox to operate out of Troon without detriment to the time on passage?

Yours, Norman Brown, Feguson Shipbuilders 1964-96, Largs and Brodick.