Late and over-budget ferry the Glen Rosa to be launched

The Glen Rosa will be launched at Ferguson Marine on Tuesday (Jane Barlow/PA)

One of two late and over-budget ferries is due to be launched next week, the shipyard has said.

The MV Glen Rosa – previously known as hull 802 – will launch from the Ferguson Marine yard in Port Glasgow on Tuesday.

The ferry and its sister vessel the Glen Sannox have been a running political sore for the Scottish Government and the publicly-owned yard, with repeated delays and cost overruns running into multiple hundreds of millions of pounds.

In attendance at the launch will be Wellbeing Economy Secretary Mairi McAllan, the yard’s interim chief executive John Petticrew, and Kevin Hobbs, the head of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) – the publicly-backed owner of the ferry.

The ferry will need to undergo trials before its handover, which is expected in September.

The former head of the shipyard, David Tydeman, was sacked last month over “performance-related issues”, as further delays to the ferries were expected.

Under questioning in Parliament last week, Ms McAllan was unable to say how long the delays are expected to be.

Following the firing of Mr Tydeman, the chief executive of state-owned ferry operator CalMac, Robbie Drummond, was also removed from his post this week.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said ministers did not order the sackings.

Ferguson Marine shipyard — Both new ferries are under construction at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow (PA)

He told the PA news agency on Thursday: “No, these are independent decisions by the board.

“Let’s be clear – both Mairi and I have been very clear with boards, be it the board of Fergusons, be it our colleagues at CMAL or CalMac, that we expect delivery.

“We expect there to be a laser-like focus on delivery for our island communities.”

He said he has full confidence in Mr Hobbs – the current head of CMAL.

He added: “Any decisions around the management are for the board of these organisations to make.

“Our direction – from myself, from Mairi McAllan and the Transport Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop – is very clear.

“Focused on delivery, and that’s really crucial not just for the Government and for the organisations involved, but importantly for the island communities we seek to serve.”