How under-siege Ferguson Marine is up against 12 other companies in CalMac ferry contract fight

The state-owned shipyard Ferguson Marine has confirmed it is bidding for a contract to build seven electric ferries for CalMac, but it is thought to be up against 12 other companies in the tender process.

Thirteen responses have been received to the ferry-owning agency CMAL’s competitive procurement process for the £175 million phase one Small Vessels Replacement Programme. Invitations to tender are expected to take place next month, with the contract being awarded in March.

Last month, Ferguson Marine interim chief executive John Petticrew said the shipyard would bid “aggressively” for the work, though he warned there could be “unfair competition” from foreign shipyards which receive state aid.

The Glen Sannox ferry moored at Inchgreen in Greenock. Picture: John Devlin | John Devlin

There had been calls for the Scottish Government, which owns Ferguson Marine and CalMac, to directly award the tender for the vessels to the yard. However, ministers said legal considerations meant this was not possible.

A spokeswoman for Ferguson Marine confirmed its bid has been submitted, but due to the competitive nature of the process, “no detail on any aspect of a bid will be provided”.

The first stage of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme procurement process is a pre-qualification exercise which will assess if the shipyards meet the financial and technical criteria to take on the project.

The highest-ranked shipyards which are interested in bidding will then progress to the next stage of the tendering process.

The Scotsman has previously reported that ministers do nott expect Ferguson Marine to win the electric ferries contract, but believe their planned £14 million investment in the shipyard will give it a good chance of securing the order for a further three vessels.

That funding is viewed as likely to give Ferguson Marine a fighting chance of winning a second “small vessels replacement programme” (SVRP) order for three larger electric ferries for routes that could include Mallaig to Armadale in Skye.

The order could be up for grabs as early as next year.

The seven electric ferries from the existing contract will be deployed across the Clyde and Hebrides to replace older vessels.

Constructing them would be considerably less complex than the larger vessels being built at the Port Glasgow shipyard, which will carry up to 852 passengers.

Glen Sannox and sister ship Glen Rosa, which will also serve in CalMac’s fleet, remain under construction at the shipyard after experiencing a number of delays.

The Caledonian MacBrayne ferry MV Glen Sannox undergoes a sea trial, accompanied by tugs, on a short trip under her own propulsion from Ferguson Marine yard in Port Glasgow. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire | PA

The two ferries are now six years late and are expected to cost at least three times the original price tag of £97 million.

In July, the Scottish Government announced it would invest £14.2 million to upgrade Ferguson Marine but it would not deliver a direct award of the small ferries contract.

Mr Petticrew said earlier: “We will bid for them, we will aggressively bid for them and hopefully we are in the ballpark.”

Asked if he was frustrated by the lack of a direct award, Mr Petticrew said: “Frustration is not the word.

“I think we need to invest in this company for the future, I think we need to concentrate on finishing these ferries right now, concentrate on getting the workforce to the standard we need to get for future work.”