The delivery of a long-delayed CalMac ferry has been put back again by two months due to issues with its dual fuel propulsion system.

MV Glen Sannox, being built at Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow, is now due to be handed over to ferries agency Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) by 31 July.

It is the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ferry constructed in the UK.

New Ferguson chief executive, John Petticrew, said its “complexity” and difficulty of installation was to blame for the delay.

Mr Petticrew pointed to a “lack of available expert knowledge and qualified resources in the UK” around LNG systems.

In a letter to Holryood’s net zero, energy and transport committee, he said: “The installation and commissioning of the LNG system, a first in class for UK shipbuilding, remains particularly challenging.

He added: “Regrettably this will result in a delay of the delivery of this fully commissioned dual fuel system vessel, now targeted for the end of July 2024.

“We appreciate and fully understand that there will be disappointment in all quarters.”

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