The issue of ferry procurement in Scotland has become a focal point in the Scottish Parliament once again, with parties debating the future of Ferguson Marine and Scotland’s ability to build its own ferries.
For those of us who support Scottish shipbuilding and want the sector to flourish, this situation is incredibly frustrating. While each side raises important points, the discussion has often focused on political blame rather than long-term solutions to address the challenges faced by island communities.
At the centre of the debate is Ferguson Marine, a state-owned shipyard that has faced cost overruns, delays, and operational challenges. The recent decision to award a £175 million contract for seven new ferries to Poland’s Remontowa Shipbuilding has sparked criticism from opposition parties, while the Scottish Government maintains that the procurement process was carried out in accordance with legal requirements.
Russell Findlay (Conservatives) challenged First Minister John Swinney, questioning why Scottish shipyards were unable to secure the contract:
“Scotland should be able to build ferries here, in Scotland, to serve the islands of Scotland and to carry the people of Scotland, so why will seven new vessels for CalMac Ferries instead be built in Poland?”
Swinney responded, making clear the necessity of following competitive tendering laws:
“It is for the simple reason that a competitive tendering process was undertaken to ensure that we can deliver seven new vessels… That process involved companies in Scotland and in other countries, as is consistent with the terms of the procurement legislation that the Government must follow.”
Findlay pressed further, arguing that government decisions had left Ferguson Marine in a weaker position:
“Those vessels could and should have been built here, in Scotland. Ferguson Marine could and should be fit to win such contracts. For decades, before the Scottish National Party had anything to do with it, Ferguson Marine built ferries on budget and on time, but now, under the direct control of John Swinney’s Government, it is unable to compete.”
Swinney defended the government’s approach, stating that their intervention preserved jobs and kept the yard operational:
“The Scottish Government intervened when there was a risk that Ferguson’s would cease trading on the Clyde… Most recently, the Government has supported the work at Ferguson’s through additional investment of up to £14.2 million in the yard in order to support it and guarantee its long-term future.”
Findlay criticised the financial mismanagement of past contracts, pointing to significant cost increases:
“Two ferries with a £97 million price tag will end up costing taxpayers more than £400 million and entering service at least seven years late.”
Swinney countered by highlighting the broader economic history, arguing that previous UK government policies had contributed to industrial decline:
“I know that does not concern Russell Findlay much, because he represents a party that destroyed the industrial base of Scotland.”
This exchange demonstrates the challenge of assessing responsibility, as both sides acknowledge issues but disagree on their root causes and solutions.
Labour’s Anas Sarwar also raised concerns about contracts being awarded internationally rather than to Scottish shipyards:
“With the Scottish National Party, it is contracts going abroad. This week, it is jobs for Poland; four years ago, it was jobs for Turkey. So much for ‘Stronger for Scotland’; instead, it is ‘The SNP—Stronger for Poland’ and ‘The SNP—Stronger for Turkey’.”
Sarwar questioned why Ferguson Marine and other Scottish shipbuilders were not securing these contracts:
“We have world-leading shipbuilders at Port Glasgow, Govan, and Rosyth. We have a publicly owned shipbuilding company, Ferguson’s, and we have BAE Systems and Babcock. I want Scotland’s shipbuilders to be able to bid on and win the contracts, but John Swinney believes that none of them are good enough to build Scotland’s ferries.”
Swinney responded, reaffirming that Ferguson Marine had been allowed to compete:
“I do not believe that any of the guff that Mr Sarwar has suggested is my view… We have gone through a competitive tendering process, and Ferguson Marine was part of that process.”
While Swinney correctly points out that Ferguson Marine was part of the process, the broader question remains: why has the yard struggled to secure new work despite continued government support?
Sarwar spoke of the economic consequences, quoting Stephen Peteranna, a hotel owner in Uist:
“My team has spent more than four decades building a sustainable business, only to watch CalMac and the Scottish Government shrink it over the past five years.”
He also highlighted the financial impact of ferry service disruptions, noting that the Isle of Arran alone loses £170,000 per day in revenue due to unreliable services. Swinney pointed to the government’s investment in the ferry network:
“When the Government came into office in 2007, the 2006-07 expenditure on ferries in Scotland was £90 million. In the forthcoming budget, the expenditure will be £530 million—a 23 per cent increase in funding levels on last year.”
A Need for Long-Term Solutions
The ferry argument in Scotland illustrates the difficulty of balancing political debate with practical solutions. While each party raises valid concerns, the focus often shifts toward criticism rather than constructive planning.
- The SNP defends its decisions on legal and financial grounds but has yet to demonstrate a clear pathway for Ferguson Marine to regain competitiveness.
- The Conservatives highlight past failures but have not provided a detailed alternative for how to improve domestic procurement within legal constraints.
- Labour calls for more contracts to go to Scottish shipbuilders but has not outlined a specific policy to ensure that happens.
A coherent, long-term strategy is needed to address the challenges of shipbuilding and ferry infrastructure in Scotland. That requires not just political debate, but concrete action—ensuring that ferry procurement supports local industry while delivering reliable services for those who depend on them. Until such a strategy is in place, political disagreements will continue.
Scotland has a proud history of shipbuilding excellence, and many believe the industry has the potential to thrive once again. However, without the right strategy, investment, and a commitment to making Ferguson Marine competitive in a fair and open market, the sector will continue to struggle.
A collective effort is needed to ensure that shipbuilding in Scotland is not just preserved but strengthened for future generations.
At the same time, it is important that discussions around ferry procurement remain balanced. Criticism of mistakes or inefficiencies should not be dismissed as an attack on Scotland, nor should every issue in ferry procurement be treated as a catastrophic failure. Productive discussion, rather than political point-scoring, is what will ultimately lead to better outcomes for the industry.
“ When the Government came into office in 2007, the 2006-07 expenditure on ferries in Scotland was £90 million. In the forthcoming budget, the expenditure will be £530 million—a 23 per cent increase in funding levels on last year.”
Never in the history of human endeavour has so much been spent, on so few, with such little effect.
[With apologies to Winston Churchill]
Glad you haven’t felt the need to follow a story in bbc today and explain who Winston Churchill was
“There is this sort of notion that we have all got to be like [British wartime prime minister] Winston Churchill.”
They must think that uk population has no idea of its history. Sadly, with the disconnect between many youth and this nation, they may be near the truth.
Last week, the bbc felt the need to explain what the Battke of Britain was;
“At 21, he was a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain, a three-month period when air force personnel defended the skies against a large-scale assault by the German air force, the Luftwaffe.”
Have to get some humour in somewhere?
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There’s a war going on with forces which are intent on undermining our sense of individual and national identity. The public service TV channels have a remit to promote and support British, English and Scottish culture. It’s no accident that ITV broadcasts soaps like Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Morse and films like the Battle of Britain, the Darkest Hour, Sink the Bismark and so on: uplifting shows which emphasise the best of the national character; reminders of who we are. The Six Nations rugby is on ITV next year not the BBC. With the exception of Call the Midwife the BBC seems to have a perverse policy of broadcasting depressing dramas which drag the viewer into the moral sewer. Despite the fact they have been banned, NHS is still holding trials on puberty blockers – a technology whose purpose is to undermine a vulnerable person’s sense of individual identity at a fundamental level. The National Trust in on a self indulgent guilt trip over slavery. The Porton Down management have just been found to be at fault for not defending an employee who was ostracised because he expressed ‘gender critical’ views. The SNP’s dalliance with gender self identification reflects a profoundly damaged sense of individual identity on the part of its adherents and their desire to project that woundedness onto the Scottish people.
MI5 must be falling down on the job.
Well, to defend the B.B.C. (sort of) an increasing number of their shrinking audience was not born here.
As for the ferries – what can one say? A nation that built ships for the world brought to this pass. Note when things go wrong blame the (English) U.K. government. When on the rare occasions they go right, claim all the credit on behalf of the S.N.P.
football? it’s okay they’ll lose that game as well 😁👎
Can you imagine how an independent Scotland run by the SNP would handle defence contracts when they made such a shambles of two ferries…
Too many politicians look at the price without understanding that money spent elsewhere is gone, money spent at home tends to stay there going round & round multiple times (but in ever decreasing circles).
It’s an utter omnishambles. The key issue in the UK is the poor quality of management in the UK from top to bottom. I will say this time and time again that nepotism runs rife in the UK with lots of sociopaths scrambling their way to the top. This is evident from procurement to choices for national leaders. The thread of Christianity that used to be in the UK tempered such behaviour but now the Church of England and Scotland have left the field this is leaving pure human greed and nepotism and is leading to national decline at an accelerating rate. We subscribe to the screw everyone way to the top we are left with poor decisions, virtue signaling and rampant nepotism all of which are rotting the UK from the top to bottom and inside out. Would I fight for this country….absolutely not what is there to fight for now…We are doomed if it takes half a billion quid to make some ferries. Someone needs to rise up and stop this rot in the UK but I’m not holding my breath. At the moment it seems like everyman for himself now. How can you make a nation about of thousands of different cultures living side by side and resenting one another with morons managing big companies and our nation state. It will get a lot worse before people wake up I suspect.
Picking up on some of your points: poor management? Yes, British engineers and car workers deliver under German and Japanese management culture. Nepotism? Agreed, the UK is a governed by a landscape of clubs and unelected Trusts. The Conservatives were booted out because they prioritised party over country. Christianity? Agreed, the C of E has lost the plot ( actually at the Reformation) – endless wrangling over woke and political correctness rather than saving souls. It would be better for them and the country if it were disestablished. Diversity? Agreed, we have made a god out diversity. As the saying goes, if you don’t believe in ( the Christian God) its not that you believe in nothing, rather you believe in anything – that C of E ( and the infantilising of the NHS) is the reason our sense of national identity is weaker. The government is trying to improve things by engineering devolution. The idea is that this will energise regions and unitary authorities. Actually I think central govt needs change too. I would repeal the Act of Settlement and dis-establish the C of E. It is these 2 pieces of legislation which institutionalise the clubbish culture which bedevils the country. As a young man my uncle gave me a piece of advice – never join a club. 🙂
Maybe if the respective churches had spent less time protecting itself and moving paedophile priests around to pastures new and more looking after the victims people would listen and think more.
As useless as the political classes are, they’re leagues better than a church. Invisible men in the sky won’t solve real world problems. I’d clearly state the case that the country is stronger without religion than with.
Indeed. All organisations tend to close ranks to survive ; churches are no exception. The problem isn’t the invisible man in the sky, it’s the invisible man inside yourself.
“the Church of England and Scotland have left the field”
Well, maybe Islam will save us all then, given it’s the only religion that is growing in the UK (due to demographic change)
“While each side raises important points, the discussion has often focused on political blame rather than long-term solutions to address the challenges faced by island communities.”
Bang on. As someone who worked for Calmac for years (along with many members of my friends and family) and who has grown up and lived on an island my whole life, I think sometimes people lose perspective on “the ferries”. These vessels are a lifeline for fragile communities – they are bringing everything from the food we eat to the day-to-day revenue we need to survive. The discussion around this decision by the government to not award this recent contract for new ferries to Fergusons frustrated me. Lots of calls about protecting jobs on the Clyde and fears for the shipbuilding industry in Scotland, but little to nothing about the very real impact these delays in new boats are having on the islands. I’d love to see Scottish shipbuilding thrive as much as anyone but as someone I know recently said, these ferries are needed and exist to provide lifeline services to island communities, not to provide jobs in Port Glasgow.
Yes indeed. And coming down the track (mixed metaphor I know) is the need to replace the Northlink fleet which according to Humza’s promises should be well under way by now, but even the funding is absent from the 2024/29 financial plan, never mind placing contracts. Present capacity is woefully inadequate for Shetland but even chartering in to cover peak requirements appears unachievable. The SNP talks a lot about “lifeline services”, island connectivity and the like but the reality does not measure up to the fine words.
I agree that ferries have been turned into a political football but the SNP have only themselves to blame as they tried to use Ferguson’s to wave the independence flag.
I have been one of the fiercest critics of the complete incompetence of the SNP government over this issue , the culprits for this unholy mess are long gone and off to pastures new without even a minor blemish and the workforce at Ferguson’s have been left holding the bag.
Frankly I want it to end and for Ferguson’s to regain some modicum of professional respect. Hopefully with the new boss in place . There is a glimmer of hope.
With Europe moving to a war footing, we have a lot of ships to build and not many places to build them.
Scotland is pro-EU. It voted overwhelmingly to remain a part of Great Germany in 2016. It should therefore welcome the Poles building their ferries.
Aon Daoine, Aon Nàisean, Aon Aonadh Eòrpach!
Taking the politics out of the discussion appears to have been missed by most posters.
However this is a non political post.
Three things went wrong with the Glen Sannox and Glen Rossa.
1. They were too big for existing infrastructure. This is CMALs fault, marine assets are not just boats but harbours as well.
2. They were the wrong type of boat. Catamarans would have been cheaper to build and cheaper to operate as they are more efficient in a cost per ton or cost per passenger carried calculation. Being too big made this worse as utilisation against capacity is also lower. Again CMALs fault.
Neither of these were down to political choices the government of the day approved them on professional advice from CMAL
3. The choice of two different fossil fuels was just a fundamental mistake which may well have been driven by politics. Conservative, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the SNP all support the fight against climate change. However CMAL also had a responsibility to advise politicians and must bear some of the responsibility for going down the dead end of LNG
Thankfully there appear to be better choices being made in the proposals for new freight boats for the northern isles.
I don’t know about all the harbours involved but I believe ships are being proposed which fit existing infrastructure. Hatston is a fairly deep port and takes much bigger cruise liners just a few metres away from the ferry terminal in Orkney
Mono Hull boats aren’t at a significant disadvantage on these larger vessels as they are for mid sized ferries.
The dual fuel option chosen diesel or methanol is much easier to do than LNG and there is scope for zero carbon methanol to be plentiful and relatively cheap by the mid 2030s. Curtailment of electricity already takes place in Orkney and Shetland so providing low cost energy to make methanol locally is feasible.
90 billion for ferries that ended up costing 400 billion and 7 years late? Scotland’s islands running short on ferries?
Well, down here in Australia we ordered some nice ferries for the Spirit of Tasmania run, only we didn’t upgrade the berthing which is running late and over budget, so the ferries will be sitting alongside in Edinburgh for a couple of years – perhaps you could borrow ours for a bit?
Ya wouldn’t read about this stuff. There was a time when great Scottish built turbine steamers did the Melbourne to Tassie run…
My understanding is that shipbuilding would need a steady and quite high workload over a long period of time to work well. That would help it to retain workforce, develop skills and reach economies of scale. A problem often is securing enough contracts to make all that possible.