THE delivery date for the first Turkish-built ferry ordered by CalMac has been delayed.
The MV Isle of Islay will not meet an anticipated delivery date of September 30 due to sea trials still needing to take place, according to a letter from Scottish Government-owned ferries procurement company CMAL.
The ferry is the first of four which are being built for Scotland's west coast routes by the Cemre shipyard, east of Istanbul in Turkey.
The contract was awarded to the shipyard in March 2022, with delivery of the MV Isle of Islay – which will serve Islay and Jura – expected in October 2024.
In March this year, it was announced that the ship was delayed by at least three months due to labour shortages and poor weather.
The MV Isle of Islay underwent its first set of sea trials in June, with the second set being completed in July.
However, as reported by the BBC, CMAL confirmed the vessel is yet to undertake its acceptance trials, which is expected to take place in mid-September.
In a letter to Holyrood's net zero, energy and transport committee, CMAL also confirmed that the vessel's internal lifts and roll-on/roll-off gear have yet to be completed.
The letter said: "We are very aware of the need to expedite delivery of this 'first in class' vessel for the benefit of the island communities and likewise the shipyard is fully focussed on delivery as efficiently as possible.
"We do not anticipate any major issues to arise in the CMAL acceptance trials but until successfully completed we cannot accurately predict a date for delivery.
"It is however clear that delivery will not be achieved within September 2025."
Once the ferry successfully passes acceptance trials, it will begin a two-week journey via Gibraltar and the Bay of Biscay, off the west coast of France, to Scottish waters.
It will then undergo a "period of familiarisation" with the ports it will operate from.
CMAL confirmed that progress is continuing on the other three ferries in the fleet which are being built in Turkey.
The MV Loch Indaal and MV Lochmor have both been launched, while the MV Claymore remains on the slipway.
