Why will Islay ferries be built in Poland, Romania or Turkey ...but NOT Scotland?
‘It is humiliating for the SNP’
A NATIONALISED shipyard has missed out on an order for two new ferries to foreign rivals.
Ferguson Marine shipyard on the Clyde was one of 11 bidders for the contract to build replacements for ageing vessels serving Islay but failed to make the shortlist.
Yards in Poland, Turkey and Romania will now submit detailed tenders. Despite making what it called a ‘robust case’ to secure the contract, Ferguson Marine said it was a ‘disappointing outcome’.
The vessels will be part of the first major order by Caledonian Maritime Assets [CMAL], which acquires ferries on behalf of operator CalMac, since Glen Sannox and another vessel, known as Hull 802, were ordered through Ferguson Marine.
Problems at the Port Glasgow yard mean the ferries have yet to set sail, despite original plans for the Glen Sannox to enter service in summer 2018.
The firm went into administration because of the delays, cost overruns and recriminations over the order for the two vessels. It was nationalised in August, 2019. The original contract for the two ferries was £97million.
Scottish Tory transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: ‘It’s humiliating for the SNP that ships which could be built in the West Coast of Scotland are instead going to be welded together in Eastern Europe. The SNP let down our shipyards so badly that they are missing out on work to Romania, Poland and Turkey.
‘Ferguson shipyard was nationalised to much fanfare by the SNP but their catastrophic failures have left the yard unable to compete for work on their own doorstep.’
Scottish Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby said: ‘This news will come as a hammerblow to Scotland’s shipbuilders and demonstrates the SNP’s complete lack of an industrial strategy.
‘This announcement means more jobs and more money going overseas at a time of economic crisis. Catastrophic failures in the Scottish Government’s procurement of two new ferries are at the heart of the Ferguson’s ferry debacle.’
Jim Anderson, CMAL director of vessels, said: ‘We received interest from many shipyards across the world and carried out robust assessment of their technical and financial suitability to take on this project.
‘Four shipyards scored the highest across both criteria.’
He added that CMAL hopes to award the contract to the winning yard by late March 2022.
‘The ITT [invitation to tender] stage marks an important step forward in bringing a new vessel to Islay and Jura,’ Mr Anderson said. ‘It is one of several new vessel and harbour upgrade projects we are progressing to improve the resilience of ferry services for island communities.’ A spokesman for Ferguson Marine said: ‘This is a disappointing outcome. We worked hard to put forward a robust case for selection for the first stage of the tender process.
‘However, we recognise CMAL is running a thorough procurement process and we respect the decision. We will take relevant learnings [sic] on board to inform other bids.’
The spokesman added that ‘we remain highly focused on completion’ of the two ferries ‘which is a top priority’.