The ship at the centre of Scotland's long-running ferries saga is scheduled to make its first passenger voyage before dawn on Monday.

MV Glen Sannox is due to leave Troon harbour in South Ayrshire, bound for the Isle of Arran, on its first sailing at 06:30.

But a yellow alert, external, issued by Caledonian MacBrayne on Sunday, said it may be subject to delay or cancellation due to high winds.

The ship - which was meant to be delivered almost seven years ago - completed a return test sailing on Sunday and is the first new large vessel to join the UK's largest ferry fleet in nearly a decade.

With a capacity for 127 cars and 852 passengers, Glen Sannox will help relieve pressures on the state-owned operator which has struggled in recent years to maintain services with ageing and increasingly unreliable vessels.

The orders for the dual-fuel ships Glen Sannox and its sister vessel Glen Rosa, were placed with the Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow nearly a decade ago.

But acrimonious disputes over the design challenges and claims for extra costs saw the shipyard fall into administration and nationalised in 2019.

The ships have ended up costing more than four times the £97m contract price and sparked arguably the longest running political row of the devolution era.

CalMac chief executive Duncan Mackison said staff had worked hard to complete sea trials and crew familiarisation for the first gas-powered ferry built in the UK.

"We are excited to welcome people on board and look forward to seeing a vessel which will bring great benefit to Arran enter service for the local community," he said.