Those unfamiliar with Scotland’s so-called ‘ferry fiasco’ would barely believe it is a true story.
The new vessels cost quadruple their original price tag, one was delivered seven years late, the other is still being built, and both are too big to fit the main harbour for their daily journeys to and from the Isle of Arran.
But in this latest chapter of the scandal, the unbelievable is very much part of the script. And, as Sky News has been hearing, the consequences are brutal.
“It is completely and utterly nuts,” one exasperated campaigner exclaims as we stand overlooking the deserted Ardrossan Harbour on Scotland’s mainland.
Ardrossan, on the Ayrshire coast, has been the main port for the ferry service to and from Arran for decades. It is the quickest, most efficient route.
But the 30-year-old ferry serving the islands for generations is failing and two new bespoke-designed ones were ordered, with them due to enter service from 2017.
The original £100m cost ballooned to £400m, the shipyard was bought by taxpayers amid financial crisis, one vessel finally started carrying passengers in January 2025 while the other is still being built.
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And to add insult to injury, both are too big for Ardrossan Harbour’s jetty to cope with and require an £80m upgrade.
In the meantime, services are being diverted along the coast to Troon.
Protest as tensions rise in ‘ghost town’
Ardrossan was promised it would remain the primary port for connectivity to Arran. But now the community is in limbo and is fearing for its future.
Christine Cowie, from Save Ardrossan Harbour, told Sky News: “It is completely and utterly nuts.
“Why anybody would commission a ferry which doesn’t fit the harbour for the route it is meant for is crazy. I cannot understand it at all.
“Ardrossan is like an extension of Arran. A lot of people come here to the dentist and use other businesses they don’t have on the island which are losing money since the ferries have gone away.”
A botched design process, mismanagement and a string of costly blunders have given the project the label of one of the biggest procurement disasters in the history of Scottish devolution.
People from Arran are joining Ardrossan campaigners on the mainland for a protest on Saturday. Hundreds are expected to gather as tensions boil over.
The group’s chairwoman Frances Gilmour said Ardrossan has become a “ghost town”.
She said: “It is so quiet. It is spooky. It’s frankly a disgrace. Businesses are suffering.
“Economically, this is the route. This is the economic route. We have the infrastructure. We just need the berths fixed.”
The 33-year-old MV Caledonian Isles, which has been away over the winter for extensive repairs, is expected to return to Ardrossan next month. But locals question how reliable and sustainable that vessel is.
On the edge of the once bustling harbour carpark is the Bute MOT garage.
Manager Scott Revans says they rely on customers from Arran previously hopping off the ferry and leaving their car for repairs at their centre.
He told Sky News: “The harbour is a ghost town. We’d get the passing trade doing whatever customers need from batteries to punctures. It has had an impact on us.”
Could taxpayers pick up the bill?
Ardrossan Harbour is owned by private company Peel Ports.
The Scottish government is currently exploring buying the port, but the talks are a secret, with campaigners feeling left in the dark.
No one involved in the discussions would answer questions from Sky News about when they expect to alert communities to the next steps.
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A spokesman for the Scottish government agency Transport Scotland said: “We absolutely understand people and communities’ views in favour of retaining Ardrossan as the mainland port and remain committed to ensuring the Arran ferry service is fit for the future.
“The Scottish government has instructed officials… to explore options on purchasing Ardrossan Port.
“We will of course update parliament once there is progress and an outcome to report, however, it would be inappropriate to get in the way of these complex and sensitive discussions.”
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Jim McSporran, port director at Peel Ports Clydeport, said: “Peel Ports Group welcomes the Scottish government’s statement that it intends to explore the potential purchase of Ardrossan Harbour.
“Regardless of the outcome of this process, our willingness to invest in the harbour remains steadfast. We take comfort that the port continues to operate this lifeline route and that it remains the port of choice for the people and businesses of Arran and Ardrossan.”
