The two CalMac ferries that are being built at the Ferguson shipyard on the Clyde have been hit by further delays.
One of the boats - hull 801, which will be called the Glen Sannox - will now not be ready until the autumn rather than May this year.
A second vessel, known as hull 802, had been due for hand over in March 2024, but will be delayed to that autumn.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney also said an additional £6million would also be allocated to help complete the ferries.
This is on top of the £15million of extra funding for Ferguson Marine already provided by the Scottish Government this financial year.
The ferries, which will join the CalMac fleet serving island communities, are already five years behind schedule, with the cost of the project three times more than the original £97million budget.
Latest delays
Announcing the latest delays in Holyrood yesterday, Mr Swinney said "persistent design gaps and build errors" meant that "progress has been slower than planned for the 801 vessel".
He added: "It is a matter of great disappointment that a further revision to the timescale for delivery has been necessary.
"I welcome the chief executive's assurances that Ferguson Marine will continue their best endeavours to deliver both vessels sooner than these dates.
The deputy first minister said any further financial needs at Ferguson shipyard in Inverclyde, which has been in public hands since 2019, would be assessed by the government and its ferry-procurement arm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal).
It emerged earlier this week that £87,000 was paid in bonuses to six senior managers at the nationalised shipyard between 2019 and 2022.
The BBC reports that Scotland's public spending watchdog said it was "unacceptable" that the money had not been cleared by the Scottish Government.
Reprehensible
Asked about the bonuses, the Mr Swinney described them as "reprehensible", adding that the government was "assessing what actions we can take in that respect".
Scottish Conservative shadow transport minister Graham Simpson MSP said the delays were a "disgrace" and another "kick in the teeth" to island communities and taxpayers.
Neil Bibby, Scottish Labour's transport spokesperson, said it was a "scandal manufactured by SNP ministers", and he alleged that both Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes - two of the three candidates for the SNP leadership - had "their fingerprints on it".