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 incompetence by Scottish ministers – which they denied.
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.
