After what seems to have been several millennia and at a cost of the entire GDP of the US, a momentous thing happened this week when the MV Glen Sannox finally set sail under its own steam.

A full eight years after work began, the familiar black and white ferry slowly moved from its home at the Ferguson Marine shipyard to start sea trials on the Clyde.

It was a moment the beleaguered islanders on Arran had been waiting for for some time, and no doubt the odd bottle was uncorked and tears shed at the end in sight.

But, of course, this being the ongoing ferry saga, all may not be as it first appears for the vessel still has a way to go before it finally goes into service.

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This is because, remarkably, there is no port on the mainland that is ready to take it.

There are currently huge questions over whether Ardrossan is capable of handling the two hugely delayed and over-budget ferries even after all this time.

One of the main concerns expressed by users is why Arran was getting such a large boat from Ferguson Marine when it would require tens of millions to alter the Ardrossan harbour.

It has been suggested that two medium sized boats were what were really needed which it was said would fit in Ardrossan without an expensive alteration.

But Himza Yousaf, who was then transport minister, gave the green light for the major upgrade at Ardrossan in April 2018.

It followed a public commitment from the Scottish Government that Ardrossan would remain Arran’s mainland port, in the face of a rival bid from Troon.

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But there is concern that shifting from Ardrossan to Troon would mean travelling times rising from 55 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes and many users say a cut in sailings would be inevitable.

There is also the small matter of the port having its own Ardrossan Harbour railway station which connects with the ferry, while Troon station is at the other end of the town.

I’m sure the good people of Troon have enough on their plates without hordes of confused passengers cutting about town looking for the station.

The Scottish Government confirmed that no decision had been made over whether Ardrossan would remain the mainland port for the Arran service – placing serious question marks over the upgrade project.

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This leaves the massively delayed and over-budget ferries the Glen Sannox and its sister ship the MV Glen Rosa in a bit of limbo about where they might operate.

As Roy Scheider famously nearly said in Jaws: “You’re going to need a bigger port”.

So, despite being delayed for years, nobody seems to have realised the seriousness of the situation and ensured the port was upgraded, which probably sums up perfectly the utter shambles of the whole exercise and highlights the utter complacency of Transport Scotland and ministers.

It’s as if someone with great big clown shoes and driving a comedy car signed the initial contract just for a laugh.

You could almost have heard them this week laughing when the Glen Sannox sailed: “Don’t worry, there’s another sting in the tail to come – it’s got nowhere to sail to on the mainland as it’s too big.”

Of course, for the islanders, none of it is very funny and ministers simply must ensure Ardrossan is upgraded as a matter of urgency and end this embarrassing farce on a high at least