SIX years late and more than three times over budget, the first of two new CalMac ferries — the Glen Sannox — will finally enter service in January.

The vessel had been due to be delivered by Greenock’s Ferguson Marine yard in 2018 as part of a £97 million two-ferry deal.

But the contract has been beset with cost overruns and accusations of mismanagement leading the yard into receivership and nationalisation.