Ferguson Marine loses out to Polish rival on deal to build seven ferries

Publicly-owned shipyard Ferguson Marine has missed out on the contract to build seven new ferries, it has been announced.

Ferry procurement arm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal) said on Monday that preferred bidder status for the new vessels – intended to serve Scotland’s smaller islands – would instead go to a Polish yard.

Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdansk scored the highest in the tender process, which used a weighting of 65-35% in terms of technical and financial criteria to assess the bids.

Contracts are hoped to be finalised following a 10-day “standstill period”.

Five yards sought the contract, the agency said, including Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, which was rescued by the Scottish Government from administration in 2019 and has faced criticism in recent years for the much-delayed and over-budget building of two ferries for the Isle of Arran.

The yard had been pushing for a direct award of the contract, but the Scottish Government was barred from the move by state aid regulations.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop described the announcement as a “milestone”.

“These seven new vessels will help improve connectivity and resilience for island residents, businesses and communities, and their electric operation will contribute to reduced carbon emissions from Scotland’s ferry fleet and make ferry travel more sustainable,” she said.

“I appreciate all the work that has gone into getting us to this important stage of the procurement process, particularly by CMAL.”

CMAL chief executive Kevin Hobbs said: “It is our responsibility to follow the public procurement strategy for Scotland and appoint a yard capable of producing quality vessels which meet the needs of islanders, but that also deliver the best value for the public purse.

“We are confident in Remontowa’s ability, and have worked with them before, most recently with the delivery of the MV Finlaggan in 2011.”

And Duncan Mackison, the chief executive of ferry operator CalMac, said the agency was “excited to welcome new, modern small vessels to the fleet”.

Intended to enter service from 2027, the electric vessels will serve the Isle of Bute, Mull, Loch Fyne, Raasay and Gigha.

On Friday, the Glen Sannox – one of the Ferguson-built vessels – was taken out of service due to a crack in its hull, just two months after entering service.

The yard has also not ruled out further delays to its sister ship the Glen Rosa, which is currently due to be handed over in September.

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said: “These CalMac ferries should be built in Scotland, not Poland.

“But this hammer blow to workers is a direct result of SNP corruption and incompetence.”

While his Conservative colleague Sue Webber – the party’s transport spokeswoman – said the decision could be the “death knell” for the yard.

Speaking at a meeting of the Public Audit Committee in February, Ferguson Marine chairman Andrew Miller said the tendering process did not take account of the social impact of giving the yard the contract, including the benefits of keeping jobs in the local area, and questioned the ability of domestic shipyards to compete with overseas firms.

“We are not playing on an even field,” he said.

“No shipyard in the UK — not even the best and most professionally managed business — can hit the prices of overseas shipyards. It is impossible.

“They all work to different standards and pricing.”

While local MP Martin McCluskey said the decision was “incredibly disappointing” for the area.

“Fergusons successfully built vessels similar to these in the past and could again,” he said.

“The contract award took no consideration of the social impact of not awarding these contracts to Port Glasgow – the same mistake cannot be made in the next round of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme.

“The workers in the yard deserve a break after years of being let down by the Scottish Government and poor management. I will be making representations to the Scottish Government today – as the owners of the yard – for them to lay out their plan to secure the jobs at the yard.”