The long-awaited launch of a second ferry built at the nationalised shipyard in Port Glasgow is to take place today.  

If all goes according to plan, MV Glen Rosa is due to slide down the slipway and enter the Clyde for the first time at 1:30pm.  

The ferry is years overdue with the project to construct two vessels at Ferguson Marine millions of pounds over budget.   

At nearly 3,000 tonnes, MV Glen Rosa will be the heaviest vessel ever to leave the slipway at the Inverclyde yard.  

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The 102m (335ft) ship will be launched by newly-qualified welder Beth Atkinson. 

Economy Secretary Mairi McAllan is also due to attend the launch, due at about 13:30. 

The Herald:

Glen Rosa and its sister ship Glen Sannox are the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel ships ever built in the UK, capable of switching between LNG and marine diesel. 

The ships have faced significant design challenges, contributing to repeated delays and extra costs, although recent progress on Glen Rosa has been rapid. 

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Former Ferguson Marine boss David Tydeman - who was sacked by the company's board a fortnight ago - previously said the yard had "captured" the learning from Glen Sannox, and the build was far less problematic. 

Glen Rosa is about 50 per cent heavier than Glen Sannox at launch, and will still require more than a year of fitting-out work on the quayside before it is finished. 

September next year is the current estimated delivery date for the ship. 

Work on both Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa began in early 2016, but a plan to build them simultaneously was abandoned later that year. 

Glen Sannox was launched by Nicola Sturgeon in November 2017 in a ceremony also attended by then Transport Minister Humza Yousaf.