Glorious era finally ends after historic shipyard slips into oblivion
TRISTAN STEWART-ROBERTSON THE Clyde’s last commercial shipyard has gone into receivership with a loss of about 70 jobs – after more than a century in business.
Workers at the Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, spoke of “great disappointment and sadness” after being told of the news yesterday morning.
The yard, which dates back to 1902, was the last commercial shipbuilder on the River Clyde and in Scotland, and it is the last yard on the Lower Clyde – leaving BAE defence yards as the only remaining shipbuilders, on the Upper Clyde.
A total of 70 workers were made redundant with immediate effect while just seven staff will remain in place as administration gets under way.
Administrator KPMG was appointed yesterday and said it was assessing all available options to complete the group’s remaining work and whether an early sale of its business, infrastructure and assets can be se- cured. The Scottish Government said it would launch a task force to look at options for the yard while unions demanded direct intervention by First Minster Alex Salmond.
Ferguson had recently finished a second groundbreaking hybrid ferry but had lurched from contract to contract in the past decade, losing out on some Scottish vessels to Polish yards.
Workers spoke of their shock yesterday outside the locked gates of the shipyard.
Welder John McMunagle, 58, from Greenock, has spent nearly 43 years in the industry and the past 19 working at Ferguson. He said workers had put their “heart and soul” into the building of “innovative” new ships while diversifying to meet the changes in the industry.
He said: “There’s great disappointment and sadness now that they’ve pulled the rug from under our feet.
“Everyone’s to blame – management, MPs, the Scottish Parliament. We built two innovative ferries for Caledonian MacBrayne which won awards, and we’re actually sitting waiting for the next order coming, to build the next two, and it isn’t happening. The work’s going abroad while we’re just being let down by everybody.”
Apprentice pipe-fitter Jill Hughes, 21, from Gourock, had completed two of the three years required for her apprenticeship. She said: “This was my career, this was my future, and it’s been totally ground to a halt.
“I was the first female commercial shipbuilder on the River Clyde in history and I was so proud to have that title, so, so proud, and it’s been a very shortlived two years.”
Generations of Scots – as well as international travellers – will have ships.
The yard specialised in rollon/roll-off ferries such as the Stornoway-Ullapool vessel MV Isle of Lewis and the MV Hebrides, as well as fisheries protection vessels such as the Jura.
Initially founded by four Ferguson brothers, the firm was taken over by Lithgows Ltd in 1955 until the firm was nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders in 1977. It has since been merged, split, bought and overhauled multiple times.
Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring
been
aboard
Ferguson for KPMG in Scotland, said: “A lack of significant orders and mounting cashflow pressure has led to the group’s inability to continue trading.
“We would like to thank staff for their co-operation during this difficult period.”
The GMB union reported that Alan Dunnett, the firm’s owner, started removing items from his office on Thursday.
Jim Moohan, GMB Scotland senior organiser, said: “The First Minister can, we believe, directly intervene and tender for commercial work within Europe to allow this yard to remain open.”