Ferguson Marine shipyard looks to expand as yard grows

Ferguson Marine has said it is already looking at how to expand beyond the limits of its current Port Glasgow site as it prepares for future vessel work and a broader revival of commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde.

Appearing before Holyrood’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, chief executive Graeme Thomson said the yard’s present footprint would become a constraint if the business secures the work now being discussed with the Scottish Government.

“You are absolutely correct that the yard will run out of space at some point,” he told MSPs.

Thomson said the company is reviewing how to make better use of the site it already has, particularly as investment in new equipment and future vessel programmes begin to reshape the yard’s production model.

“We are certainly looking at what we are doing with the investment that we have talked about and how we can optimise the space that we have,” he said.

That work is tied to a broader push to modernise production flow, rather than simply add more activity into the same layout.

“In the journey that we are starting on, we will look at how to optimise space so that there is a proper production flow that makes best use of it,” Thomson said.

The issue arose during questioning about the Scottish Government’s proposed direct award of contracts for four further vessels, and whether Ferguson Marine has the capacity to handle that workload within the current yard. Thomson said the company estimates that programme could take around five years, although much depends on when contracts are actually signed.

“We estimate that it will take about five years, although that is partly about when the contracts are let,” he said.

For Ferguson Marine, however, the space question is not limited to fitting in the next batch of ships. Thomson suggested the company is already thinking about a larger industrial future for Inverclyde if current plans are realised.

“I have been clear since I have been in the job that I hope that Port Glasgow will not be big enough in five years,” he said.

He added that the ambition is to grow beyond the current site and rebuild a more substantial shipbuilding base in the area.

“I hope that Port Glasgow will not be big enough in five years and that we can expand and spread out more, perhaps at Inchgreen or other annexed areas, so that we can get to the point at which we are creating a good solid commercial shipbuilding industry in Inverclyde again,” Thomson told the committee.

That is one of the clearest indications yet that Ferguson Marine is thinking not only about recovering from the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa saga, but about re-establishing a broader industrial footprint on the lower Clyde. Thomson said discussions had already taken place locally about potential options.

“I have been speaking with Inverclyde Council about how, if we were looking to expand our footprint, there are areas around the yard, although it might not look like it, that we could go into, subject to the council being amenable to that,” he said.

He also pointed to the Inchgreen facility, around a mile away, as a possible part of that longer-term picture.

“There is also the Inchgreen facility a mile down the road from us,” he said.

Inchgreen dock to be overhauled under UK investment

At the current site itself, Thomson suggested there may still be scope for targeted expansion, although not without practical limitations. One of those is unusual even by shipyard standards.

“Part of the issue is that we have a fire station in the middle of our yard that serves the whole community,” he said. “We cannot move that, because it is critically important.”

Even so, he said there is land near the existing site that could potentially be used for additional industrial capacity.

“There is space in front of the yard that we could use,” Thomson told MSPs. “It does not look like much, but it could be sufficient for us to put in another panel line or other automated equipment.”

That matters because the yard’s modernisation plans are already tied to new manufacturing infrastructure, including a semi-automated panel line intended to improve steel processing and productivity. Any future expansion would likely be shaped around that kind of equipment and a more streamlined build flow.

For now, the space issue remains partly theoretical, as the details of future vessel contracts are still being worked through. But Ferguson Marine’s evidence made clear that management is already thinking beyond the current yard boundary.