‘Deplorable’: the ferry harbour crisis could be about to get worse |
John Swinney says plans to take Ardrossan harbour into public ownership are 'well-advanced' but it could make the situation worse, says Mark Smith
One of the lowest of the low points in the ferry fiasco was when Glen Sannox was “launched” in 2017 with fake windows painted on. Not only was it a low point for practical reasons – the ferry was overdue and grotesquely over-budget – the symbolism of the fake windows was unmistakable: we weren’t supposed to be able to see the profound crisis in public policy and delivery; it was being painted over.
Since then, the issues with Glen Sannox have not improved, as you know. It finally entered service last January, seven years after it was supposed to, but there were faults with a door, and cracks, and excessive vibration which led to it being pulled from service for repairs. We also discovered this week that the repair and maintenance costs for 18 months have been at least £1million. The Scottish Government says the costs are “completely normal”, but we can now see when something’s being painted over. We can see the fake windows.
The other part of the crisis – I won’t call it a side-effect because it’s worse than that – is Ardrossan harbour where the costs to the taxpayer are also on the up. We found out late last year that a price has been agreed in principle for the purchase of the harbour from its owners, Peel Ports, and its transfer into public ownership. Over the weekend John Swinney also said talks on the purchase were at a “well-advanced stage”. Asked if the deal would be sealed by the end of this year, he said it would yes, absolutely, no BS, you can rely on us this time no ifs or buts (or words to that effect).
Before we look at whether any of this is good news, it’s probably worth recapping how we got here because it’s tragi-comic, mainly tragi. What happened essentially is that when decisions were being made about what kind of ferries were needed, local people, in Ardrossan and on Arran,........