Construction of MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa

Two ferries, MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa, are under construction by Ferguson Marine Ltd, for the state-owned ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne under direction of Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), Transport Scotland, and the Scottish Government. Originally intended to come into service in 2018 and 2019 respectively, both ferries have been delayed by over five years, and costs have more than trebled to £360 million. These delays and cost overruns have led the affair to be known as the ferry fiasco, with much criticism of the Scottish Government's handling of the process.

The main contractor, Ferguson Marine, was nationalised by the Scottish Government in December 2019 with debts of £70 million. It is now classified as an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government.

Caledonian MacBrayne ("CalMac") operate mainly in the Clyde and Hebrides regions of the west coast of Scotland, and serve a local population of around 45,000 people. There are no other large scale ferry operators in the area. Many of its routes are considered "lifeline services" which run to 22 of the 'major' west-coast islands. On average its 34 vessels complete 466 crossings a day.

Delays and cancellations in recent years have been blamed by CalMac on ageing ferries, with the average age of their vessels being 24 years. Of the 10 largest ferries, four are over 30 years old, which is beyond their expected operational life; Isle of Arran is 38 years old. Research shows the replacement of ferries fell from one every 14 months from 1993 to 2007 (with 33,350 tonnes launched), to one every 36.1 months from 2007 to 2021 (with 16,188 tonnes launched).