Ministers urged to back Fergusons shipyard as Kate Forbes attends summit

The shipyard building two late and over-budget new ferries for CalMac could have to close without action from the Scottish Government, ministers have been warned.

Stephen McCabe, the leader of Inverclyde Council, said without more work coming in the Ferguson Marine yard in Port Glasgow could have to cut its workforce or may be “facing closure within a reasonably short period of time”.

With Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes pledging to leave “no stone unturned” in efforts to secure a future for the state-owned shipyard, Mr McCabe called on the Scottish Government to award it a contract to build several smaller ferries for CalMac.

That is despite the two vessels already being built by Ferguson Marine for the ferry operator being years late and massively over budget.

The Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa are now about six years late and will cost around three times the original £97 million price tag.

But Mr McCabe insisted those ferries were “far too big” to be constructed at Fergusons.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, the Inverclyde Council leader added: “We all need to move on beyond those two large ferries.

“They were far too big for the yard, far too complicated in design. The design wasn’t even finished before they started building them.

“No yard in the world could have built those two ferries for £97 million and on the timescale they were asked to complete them in.

“So we need to move on from that. The yard has got a strong track record in completing small ferries on time and on budget and that is what we need to be looking at.”

With Ms Forbes attending a summit on Thursday which also included Ferguson’s executive and GMB trade union officials, Mr McCabe said the Deputy First Minister should confirm the government “will make a direct award for this small ferries contract”.

He said: “I don’t think Fergusons can compete on price, because of the lower wages that are paid in foreign yards.

“I think the government has to seriously look at a direct award.”

Mr McCabe continued: “If the government’s intention is to put the yard back into private ownership at some point, it needs to put the yard in a position where it is attractive to private buyers, it needs to be competitive.

“And to do that in the short term it needs to invest in the yard and it needs to give the yard an order to sustain it for the next few years, to a position where they can potentially put it back into the private sector.

“Because the work has run out, there is no more orders on the order book and this yard is facing closure within a reasonably short period of time, certainly facing downsizing the workforce.”

Speaking after the summit on Thursday – where she did not confirm direct award of the vessels to Ferguson Marine – Ms Forbes said: “The Scottish Government shares a common goal with GMB Scotland, the yard, the workers and all stakeholders who met today – to seek a sustainable future for Ferguson Marine which works for employees, the taxpayer and Scotland’s economy.

“I have heard many ideas and been impressed by the energy and commitment of everyone involved. The contributions will be at the forefront of my mind over the coming weeks as we consider proposals for the yard’s medium and long-term future.

“Ferguson’s workers deserve huge praise for their dedication and hard work.

“Despite the well-documented problems, Glen Sannox is on course for delivery by the end of July and Glen Rosa will be completed next year.”

GMB senior organiser Gary Cook said the small ferry contract must be the start of a “pipeline of work” to support the yard.

“These contracts would become a springboard back to profitability and help the workforce repay taxpayers for the faith and investment already placed in the yard,” he said

“The workers are committed, skilled and completely blameless for the errors made in recent years and must be given the chance to show that.

“Kate Forbes will leave Greenock today under no illusion about how important these contracts are to the yard and how they will help protect its shipbuilding heritage for generations to come.”

Scottish Tory transport spokesman Graham Simpson said the discussion at the summit was “useful and frank”, adding that the Deputy First Minister should learn from the “dithering of her predecessors” and make a quick decision.

“She needs to decide whether the small ferries work is awarded to the yard or put out to tender, and whether she is prepared to invest in the yard to make it commercially competitive,” he said

“These decisions should have been taken already but instead the SNP Government have focused on delivering a ferry which is late and overbudget.”