THE troubled Glen Sannox ferry has reached a major milestone by becoming the first ship in the UK to have liquefied natural gas successfully bunkered onto it.

But Ferguson Marine says the delay in loading the fuel on board has had a "knock-on effect" to the handover schedule for the ship.

The fuel was loaded on board the vessel following four-and-a-half days of cooling the LNG tank to the required temperature of minus 146 degrees using liquefied nitrogen.

The fuel was successfully bunkered onto the vessel on Friday, September 13, two days later than originally planned, ahead of the next phase of testing.

According to an update issued by the company last week, the official handover date for the ship was still September 30.

Sea trials are now expected to take place at the end of the week, though further trials will be needed after the vessel is handed over to its new owners, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, before the ship is able to enter service. 

More sea trials of MV Glen Sannox are due to take place later this week after the ship's LNG fuel was loaded on board.More sea trials of MV Glen Sannox are due to take place later this week after the ship's LNG fuel was loaded on board. (Image: George Munro)

Andrew Milligan, head of engineering at Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow), said: “The successful LNG bunkering is a highly significant milestone as it’s the first time it has ever been done in the UK.

“It was a complicated process which required significant safety protocols to be put in place.

"We experienced some unexpected challenges around this process and, unfortunately it has had a knock-on effect to the handover schedule. 

“I’m personally very disappointed about that. 

“However, it is important to recognise the significance of what we have achieved. Glen Sannox is a first-in-class vessel, and we are breaking new ground in shipbuilding with this LNG fuel technology. 

“The ability to adapt, learn from, and successfully deal with these challenges demonstrates the hard work being done by everyone at FMPG. 

“I wish to extend my thanks to everyone at the yard and our colleagues at CMAL and CalMac for all their hard work in achieving this major step as we push towards delivering MV Glen Sannox.”

LNG, seen as a far more environmentally friendly system, had been blamed, in part, for the delays to the long awaited Glen Sannox and its sister ship Glen Rosa, both of which will serve on Caledonian MacBrayne's Arran route.

Both ferries are designed to run on both traditional marine gas oil and LNG - becoming the first built in the UK to do so.

Load testing will be the next phase of trials to take place.  

This process involves switching all engines on to ensure they are operating efficiently and to establish the vessel’s propulsion set capabilities.

FMPG says all systems will undergo rigorous testing quayside before MV Glen Sannox goes out to sea for two to three days from Friday (September 20), to evaluate the vessel’s manoeuvrability, acceleration and speed.

The two ferries remain six years behind schedule. Current cost estimates for Glen Sannox are between £145.5 million and £149.1m and it is hoped the cost for Glen Rosa will be kept below £150m.

The total bill will be three times the original £97m price tag.