First Minister urged to award ferry replacement contract to Ferguson Marine

Ministers must urgently award a crucial ferry contract to Ferguson Marine to secure a new future for the shipyard, according to community leaders.

An open letter to First Minister John Swinney has launched a campaign to allow workers to restore the yard’s former reputation for excellence after ten bruising years.

The letter, signed by political and community leaders across Inverclyde, said Ferguson’s workers are blameless for delays and overspends that beset the two ferries most recently built there and deserve the chance to secure a new future for the yard.

The letter to John Swinney insists the new Caledonian MacBrayne ferry to replace MV Lord of the Isles (LOTI) is built in Port Glasgow. It was launched in Port Glasgow in 1989 and now, almost 40 years later, its replacement must also be built at Ferguson’s, according to the cross-party campaign.

GMB Scotland, the biggest union at Ferguson’s, is leading calls for the direct award of the contract as the first step towards a secure and successful future for the famous shipyard.

The open letter, signed by more than a dozen community leaders, concludes: “Ferguson’s has built ships for more than a century – including a third of CalMac’s current fleet – and, until recently, its history was one of achievement.

“The Clyde’s last non-naval shipyard can, with support and sound management, achieve again.

“It has been and remains a foundation stone of the Inverclyde economy, creating and sustaining high-quality jobs and apprenticeships for generations.

“On behalf of the communities of Inverclyde, we urge the Scottish Government to award the contract to replace MV Lord of the Isles swiftly and directly to Ferguson Marine.”

Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, said the wide range of influential signatories shows the breadth of support for the workers across Inverclyde and communities’ enduring pride in the yard’s history and achievement.

She said: “Ferguson’s is more than a shipyard. Families and communities have been built in that yard not just ships.

“Despite the relentless focus on the yard over the last decade, there remains huge pride in its past and belief in its future.”

Gilmour said the direct award of the contract to replace LOTI, which sails between Mallaig and South Uist and is one of CalMac’s most iconic ferries, would allow the skilled workforce to begin restoring the yard’s former reputation.

She said ministers’ insistence that contracts cannot be awarded directly because of competition rules must be questioned.

Gilmour said: “These contracts cannot be decided on price alone when foreign bids are underpinned by low wages and tax breaks.

“The huge social and economic value of shipbuilding to the communities of Inverclyde of Ferguson Marine have not been properly valued in previous tenders.

“The workers of Ferguson’s, their families and their communities deserve their voice to be heard and allowed to turn the page and begin a new and successful chapter.”

The open letter coincides with the launch of a public petition calling for the LOTI contract and a new partnership between the shipyard and publicly-owned ferry company to build a steady stream of small ferries to deliver reliable links for islanders and value for money for taxpayers.

Signatories include politicians from across the main parties including SNP MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde Stuart McMillan, Labour Inverclyde MP Martin McCluskey, and MSPs for West Scotland.

McMillan said the yard is vital to the local economy, adding: “A direct award of the Lord of the Isles is important in helping deliver a yard that can be sustainable and to regain its positive reputation.

“The yard needs a pipeline of work and there are still many commercial shipbuilding opportunities that exist, in addition to naval contracts, which the yard can also win more work from. The yard has delivered in the past and can deliver again.”

Councillor Stephen McCabe, Labour leader of Inverclyde Council, signed the letter along with the Provost Drew McKenzie, and leaders of the councils Tory and SNP groups.

McCabe said the campaign has his full support, adding: “Fergusons is a key employer in Port Glasgow and Inverclyde more generally.

“We simply cannot afford to lose any more skilled jobs. The Scottish Government, as owners of the yard, must secure its immediate future through a direct award and provide the investment needed to ensure Fergusons can compete successfully for further contracts.”

Church leaders including the Bishop John Keenan of the diocese of Paisley, including Port Glasgow, and Rev. William Boyle, Church of Scotland minister at Port Glasgow New Parish Church and Ferguson’s yard chaplain, also signed the letter and are backing the campaign.

Speculation has surrounded Ferguson’s future since the yard failed to win the contract to build seven new ferries for CalMac as part of the Scottish Government’s small vessels replacement programme. Instead, the £175m contract went to the Remontowa yard in the Polish city of Gdansk.

The second phase of the small ferries programme is also expected soon along with arrangements to replace MV Lord of the Isles.

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “Shipbuilding is a competitive global market and any direct award of a public contract must comply with applicable procurement and subsidy control rules and be capable of withstanding legal challenge.

“Ministers consider vessel contracts at an appropriate time on a case-by-case basis, including the Lord of the Isles, to determine an appropriate and lawful route to market and also review potential community benefits. Under public procurement and subsidy control rules, direct award of public contracts is only possible in strictly limited circumstances.

“We are currently considering the business case and next steps in relation to the replacement for the MV Lord of The Isles and will confirm these in due course.”