From BBC Scotland Online News 7 January 2025

Lifeline harbour plan in limbo, says ferries boss

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   Image source,Transport Scotland

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   Visualisations of the new Ardrossan harbour were released years ago but the redevelopment has stalled

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Slide 1 of 3, A visualisation of a large harbour with two large ships moored beside a park with a marina in the background, Visualisations of the new Ardrossan harbour were released years ago but the redevelopment has stalled

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Published
7 January 2025, 16:34 GMT

Updated 1 hour ago

The fate of a lifeline port remains in limbo seven years after a major upgrade was promised, according to the boss of Scotland's ferries agency.

Ardrossan harbour faces an uncertain future because two new ferries due to be deployed on CalMac's Arran route are too big to fit.

Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of government-owned ferries and harbours body CMAL, told MSPs that talks with the port's private owner about funding remained "in the middle of nowhere".

MV Glen Sannox, which enters service next week, will initially sail from Troon but will be restricted to three daily return crossings because of the extra journey time.

Ardrossan will then be left with no scheduled CalMac sailings at all for two months until the old Arran vessel, MV Caledonian Isles, returns from repairs in March.

The Ardrossan Harbour Project was given the go-ahead in 2018 by then transport minister Humza Yousaf who promised the North Ayrshire town would remain the main gateway to Arran.

But Transport Scotland paused the project in 2023 following concerns about rising costs, and said a new business case would be developed.

The existing facilities at Ardrossan are deemed too difficult for the new larger ships to berth at safely.

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Media caption,

The Arran berth at Ardrossan involves a notorious "handbrake turn" - negotiated here by Caledonian Isles - which is deemed too risky for the new ferries

 

 

Mr Hobbs told Holyrood's net zero, energy and transport committee , externalthe situation with Ardrossan was "frustrating", but that it was out of CMAL's control as the "lifeline harbour" was in private hands.

He said no progress could be made until there was agreement on funding from three partners - Peel Ports, Transport Scotland and North Ayrshire Council.

Asked where those negotiations stood, he replied: "In the middle of nowhere I think at the moment."

He added: "Let's just say those amounts of money are ebbing and flowing between the three parties, which makes it very tricky."

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Kevin Hobbs said plans for the Ardrossan redevelopment were "in the middle of nowhere"

Glen Sannox and its sister ship Glen Rosa, due for delivery in the autumn, will also have to rely on road tankers for their liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling because no dedicated facilities have yet been constructed.

CMAL awarded a contract to build the LNG storage and fast refuelling station to a Danish company in 2020 - but Mr Hobbs said construction could not begin until a firm decision was taken on where the new ferries would be based.

He said he expected a minister to make an announcement on the Ardrossan project in the coming months.

CalMac said operating out of Troon would inevitably result in fewer daily sailings because of the longer journey but that it would continue to work with partners to secure Ardrossan's redevelopment.

A spokesperson for Ardrossan Harbour, owned by Peel Ports, said the uncertainty was "devastating for the people and businesses of Arran and Ardrossan".

They added: "Peel Ports remains fully committed to the original Port redevelopment programme and is ready to begin the public procurement process once the ministerial taskforce approves the revised business case."

Transport Scotland said a revised business case was almost complete but it needed to be supported by financial contributions from each of the main partners.

A spokesperson said: "It is vital that these packages and legal agreements are clearly defined, affordable and ensure value for the public purse."

'Odd' payment arrangement

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   Image source,Transient Places

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   The James Watt Dock Titan crane, photographed some years ago. Images courtesy of Transient Places. , externalAll images are copyrighted.

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Slide 1 of 4, A blue painted crane photographed at night. The crane is constructed of giant latticed girders., The James Watt Dock Titan crane, photographed some years ago. Images courtesy of Transient Places. All images are copyrighted.

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The crane's category A listing means it is considered to be of national or international significance for its architecture or history.

Elliott McElvie, from Inverclyde Heritage Network, said he feared the crane might be allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that it has to be demolished.

Three smaller cranes beside the town's Inchgreen dry dock suffered a similar fate in 2017, external when the owner, Peel, decided to blow them up.

"Greenock and Port Glasgow used to have a number of Arrol cranes in the shipyards but they're all gone," Mr McElvie said.

"The Titan is the only one that's left and it's sad to see it fall into a state of disrepair where the paint's peeling off it and we're getting reports that it's unsafe."

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Local politicians from the three largest parties have united in calls for action to preserve the crane.

It is owned by James Watt Dock LLP - a joint venture between subsidiaries of the Peel Group and publicly-funded urban regeneration firm Riverside Inverclyde.

Recently-elected local MP Martin McCluskey wrote to the owners asking for details on the condition of the crane and plans for its preservation.

"The water in Inverclyde is one of our biggest assets whether that's industry or tourism," he told BBC Scotland News.

"We have a growing cruise ship market - we need to be thinking about all of these things on how we cater for a growing market for tourism.

"It could easily be a tourist attraction, although that would require a lot more investment and thought."

Repair plan

Where are the other Titans?

From BBC Scotland online news 9 January 2025

Repair plan for iconic crane after safety alert

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   Image caption,

   The James Watt Dock crane has been part of Greenock's skyline since 1917

   Calum Watson

   BBC News
   Published
   9 January 2025

   Updated 8 hours ago

   Urgent repairs have been ordered on a giant Clydeside crane after fears the 107-year-old structure could be crumbling.

   A safety exclusion zone was ordered beneath the Titan crane at Greenock's James Watt Dock in mid-December after reports of "material" landing on a boat in the nearby marina during high winds.

   Heritage campaigners and local politicians have voiced concern that the category A-listed crane - one of only four surviving Titans on the Clyde - is not being properly maintained.

   The crane's owners say an inspection found no parts were missing but remedial works will begin in the coming weeks to allow the exclusion zone to be lifted.

   Image source,Inverclyde Heritage Network

   Image caption,

   The crane was used for fitting out ships when Greenock was a shipbuilding town

   The Greenock Titan Crane was built in 1917 by Sir William Arrol & Co Ltd - one of the leading Glasgow engineering firms of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

   The company built some of the UK's most famous steel structures, including the second Tay Bridge, the Forth Bridge and Tower Bridge in London.

   The giant cantilever crane at Greenock stands 150ft (48m) tall and was once rated to lift 150 tonnes - the equivalent of about 30 adult elephants.

   In Inverclyde's shipbuilding heyday it was used for lifting the heaviest objects into ships, particularly engines which were often made by the nearby Kincaid works.

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   Image source,Transient Places

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   The James Watt Dock Titan crane, photographed some years ago. Images courtesy of Transient Places. , externalAll images are copyrighted.

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    Image source,Transient Places
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    Image source,Transient Places

Gas-powered ships

Scotland's entire west coast ferry network should also benefit as the average age of the fleet falls and new capacity allows vessels to be redeployed.

 

 

Scotland's ferries saga

 

For SNP politicians there will be hope the arrival of Glen Sannox heralds the end of Scotland's long-running ferries controversy, although reports of new delays for Glen Rosa mean that may be premature.

The contract to build the two ships was awarded to Ferguson's in 2015, a year after it went bust.

It was rescued by an investment firm led by Jim McColl, an economic adviser to the then First Minister Alex Salmond.

While a decade of decline had left the Clyde's last commercial shipyard with just 76 staff when it went into administration, the businessman delivered millions of pounds of investment and rapid expansion.

But construction of the dual-fuel ships soon faltered as the firm grappled with complex design challenges while trying to hit production milestones and modernising run-down facilities.

Claims for extra costs led to a bitter standoff between the yard's management and state-owned ferries procurement body Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL).

Image source,

 

Image source,PA Media

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Glen Sannox was launched with much fanfare in 2017, but the ship was far from finished

Glen Sannox was launched by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon on a blustery day in November 2017, but behind the scenes a bigger political storm was brewing.

It later emerged the ship was far from finished - windows were painted on, temporary funnels were made of plywood and, more importantly, huge amounts of engineering and electrical work were still required inside.

The yard's managers blamed CMAL, claiming a poorly-developed concept design, late decision-making and interference had led to unforeseen complications.

CMAL said the firm had simply underestimated the complexity of the task entrusted to it and made poor management decisions.

The deadlock eventually saw Ferguson's run out of money and fall back into administration in 2019, with the shipyard nationalised, saving 350 jobs.

Problems continued under new "turnaround director" Tim Hair who was paid nearly £2m before a permanent chief executive was appointed in 2022.

Opposition parties, meanwhile, claimed the crisis had its roots in political opportunism and incompetence by Scottish ministers.

Under new boss David Tydeman, the ships' construction eventually made progress but with more huge cost increases and repeated delays.

He was sacked by the Ferguson board last March, and the ship was finally delivered to CMAL, after several more short delays, in November.