Ferguson Marine to bid for small ferries contract

Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow says it will bid for work on new electric ferries for Calmac.

On Tuesday, the Scottish government said it could not simply award the work to the shipyard as it would have meant "substantial risks and uncertainties" due to UK subsidy laws, with the contract instead being put out to competitive tender.

The yard's interim chief executive officer John Petticrew said it would have to bid against "unfair" foreign competition.

Speaking after a meeting with deputy first minister Kate Forbes, Mr Petticrew said he would be "disappointed" if the yard lost out.

When asked why he thought the competition was unfair, he said: “Because the countries we’re bidding against, we all know that their governments are putting money into those shipyards."

Ferguson Marine has overseen the long-delayed delivery of two larger ferries for CalMac's busy Arran route - the Glen Rosa and the Glen Sannox.

The firm was given a £97m contract for the two ferries in 2015, a year after the shipyard was saved from administration by businessman Jim McColl.

They were originally due for delivery in 2018 but have faced repeated design challenges and cost overruns.

Ferguson Marine aims to hand over the Glen Sannox, the first of the completed ships, in the week beginning 19 August.

Mr Petticrew, who took over at the end of March after former chief executive David Tydeman's contract was terminated, said there had been "lessons learned" from "mistakes in the past" which would be seen in improvements to the Glen Rosa.

The ferry officially launched in April and fitting-out work is expected to be completed by September 2025.

Phase one of the small vessels replacement programme (SVRP) will involve replacing seven ferries on the Clyde and Hebrides network with all-electric boats.

It is estimated to cost about £175m, with up to three more ferries to follow in phase two.

The procurement process for phase one is expected to take about eight months, and will be led by CMAL, the government-owned company that procures ships for the CalMac fleet.

CalMac's ageing small vessels fleet includes a ferry which is now almost 50 years old.

Phase one of the SVRP is expected to deliver the first replacement vessel in the autumn of 2026.

The boss of nationalised shipyard Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow had previously said he hoped the yard would win the contract, securing it a future once it completed the overdue ferries.

But Ms Forbes said government analysis had found directly awarding the contract to the firm would pose "substantial risks and uncertainties" for the shipyard and the communities that rely on the vessels due to the "strict conditions" imposed by the UK Subsidy Control Act.

However, she said the government would "do everything which is legally possible to support the yard and the workforce to secure a long-term future".

The government confirmed on Tuesday that a total of £14.2m was to be invested in the shipyard over two years – subject to legal, financial and commercial scrutiny, which the government said should be complete by the autumn.

The government also said talks were at final stages with BAE Systems about Ferguson Marine being awarded further work on the Type 26 Frigate programme.