A new ferry has been removed from service just weeks after it was launched after a crack was found in its hull.

The vessel only began operating in January after being delivered almost seven years late and costing more than four times the original contract price.

The ship had been operating since January between Troon in South Ayrshire and Brodick in the Isle of Arran. It is now tied up at Brodick.

Ferry operator CalMac said reports that the Glen Sannox had hit the harbour or that water was leaking into the car deck were “categorically untrue”.

It said that a “very small amount of water” had entered part of the rear of the ship near the steering gear.

“MV Glen Sannox has been removed from service due to a crack on a weld seam on the vessel’s hull which is close to the waterline,” it said in a statement.

“This requires the support of a dive team to assess, and the earliest this could be arranged for is Saturday morning. A third-party team will attend tomorrow to carry out a full assessment.

“Following this, we will be able to provide more information on the issue and, if required, repairs and service impact.

“It does mean all MV Glen Sannox sailings on Saturday 15 March have been cancelled.”

Scottish Conservative shadow transport secretary Sue Webber MSP said: “This news will come as a hammer blow for ferry passengers, who have been betrayed at every turn by this incompetent SNP government.

“After waiting nearly seven years for this massively overbudget vessel, island communities will be dismayed that it’s broken down within weeks of its launch.

“The SNP’s failure to provide a viable ferry network has left passengers stranded once again.

“SNP ministers cannot shirk responsibility for the crisis that they have shamefully created. They need to act now and get Glen Sannox back in service as soon as possible.”

News of the leak camw 24 hours after interim CEO John Petticrew announced he was leaving and returning to his home in Canada.