Small vessel snub could be ‘death knell’ for Ferguson Marine, Tories warn

Not winning the contract to replace seven small ferries could be the “death knell” for publicly-owned Ferguson Marine, the Scottish Tories have warned.

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.

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.

Despite being “disappointed” with the decision, the yard’s chief financial officer David Dishon said he was “optimistic” about the future of Ferguson Marine.

But Scottish Tory transport spokeswoman Sue Webber raised concerns about its viability.

“This announcement is devastating for Ferguson Marine and could yet prove the death knell for the yard,” she said.

“It should be a given that a nationalised shipyard wins a Scottish Government contract.

“Yet it’s a measure of how badly the SNP have mismanaged Ferguson’s that ferries which should be built on the west coast of Scotland are instead to be made in eastern Europe.

“The blame for this outrageous situation lies squarely with incompetent SNP ministers who have let down workers at the yard, and ferry passengers across Scotland, at every turn.”

Ms Webber urged ministers to explain the decision to Holyrood.

In a statement released after the decision was announced, Mr Dishon – who has assumed more of a leadership role of the yard after the shock resignation of interim chief executive John Petticrew last week – said pricing will always harm UK yards bidding for such contracts.

“Naturally we are disappointed that we were not selected as the preferred bidder for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme,” he said.

Mr Dishon added: “We are very proud of our bid and although we priced it competitively, we were up against extremely tough competition from yards outside the UK which benefit from significantly reduced operating costs and advanced capital investment programmes.

These seven new vessels will help improve connectivity and resilience for island residents

“The weighting for price will therefore place all UK yards at a disadvantage.

“However we were pleased to see Ferguson Marine’s bid rated so highly on quality.”

Concerns have been raised about how much work the yard will have after the Glen Rosa is finished, with the small vessel contract viewed as being the best option for the yard’s future.

But Mr Dishon said discussions on other work was continuing, saying: “We remain optimistic about the future of the yard and ongoing discussions with commercial partners continue to progress with promise.”

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.”

But Scottish Labour transport spokeswoman Claire Baker said the announcement was “another blow” for Scottish shipbuilding, calling for a plan to revamp the country’s ferries to be put in place.

“On the SNP watch, Scotland’s iconic shipbuilding industry has been let down and jobs and investment are going overseas.

“Once again this SNP government is failing to stand up for Scotland and support our key industries,” she said.

“The SNP’s ferry fiasco has done immense damage to island communities, cost taxpayers eye-watering sums and left the Scottish shipbuilding industry out in the cold.”

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

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

“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.”

And local MSP Stuart McMillan said he was “gutted” by the announcement, urging ministers to make a statement to Holyrood and stressing the importance of the second phase of the replacement programme.

“Today’s announcement only strengthens the argument that a direct award was the best option to help safeguard and develop the yard,” he said.

“However, the Phase two announcement later this year becomes even more critical for the future of Ferguson Marine.

“No matter what, it must be awarded a phase two contract.”

The second phase of the programme will see three further vessels built.

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Willie Rennie said the contract decision is a “hangover from the SNP’s ferries fiasco”.

He added: “After doing so much damage to Scotland’s reputation for shipbuilding, someone in this SNP government must finally carry the can.”

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

Alex Logan, the shipyard’s GMB Scotland convenor, said the decision is “another blow to a workforce that has been used as political punch bag for far too long”.

He said: “The Scottish Government is investing in the yard but what use is investment without contracts?

“We had a worldwide reputation for building small vessels and sending this work overseas makes no sense for the workers, for islanders or for the people of Scotland.”