Glen Sannox Ferry Incident Raises Safety Concerns Over LNG-Powered Vessels
A ferry carrying 82 passengers suffered a critical gas fuel system failure on June 3, 2025. The incident occurred while the Glen Sannox was traveling between the Isle of Arran and the mainland in Scotland.
A faulty valve caused an uncontrolled leak of about 700kg of highly flammable methane, enough to fill a four-bedroom house. The gas continued to escape for around 12 minutes, with some entering the ship's ventilation intake and reaching the generator room.
The port main engine automatically shut down while the ferry was heading towards Brodick on Arran. However, the incident did not result in an explosion, according to CalMac, which described the failure as 'critical'. The vessel finished its crossing using diesel fuel but leaked methane again during its return trip.
The operator's investigation found that the crew should have stopped using gas until they determined why the alarm had gone off. The ferry's LNG tank was fully emptied in November 2025, and it has not used liquefied natural gas to run its main engines since the incident.