Paul Sweeney MSP has warned that continued delays to the Scottish Government’s marine vessel replacement programme risk deepening uncertainty at Ferguson Marine, arguing that the absence of a joined-up procurement strategy is leaving Scotland’s shipbuilding base exposed.
His comments follow UK Defence Journal reporting that plans to replace two ageing Scottish Government vessels have been pushed back beyond earlier indications, with officials formally resetting programme timelines after months of inactivity following initial market engagement.
In June 2025, the Scottish Government issued a Prior Information Notice for the Marine Vessel Replacement Project, covering the replacement of the Marine Protection Vessel Minna and the Marine Research Vessel Scotia. While the notice was not a tender, it included an indicative contract notice date of September 2025. No procurement milestones were published by that date, and no further updates appeared on Public Contracts Scotland during the remainder of the year.
After enquiries from UK Defence Journal in late December, the Scottish Government subsequently amended the original notice with a “Programme Timelines Update”, confirming that earlier expectations were no longer applicable. Responding to the delay, Sweeney said the lack of progress reflected a broader failure to use public procurement to sustain domestic shipbuilding capacity.
“The Scottish Government have failed to purchase a new vessel with a Scottish shipyard in over a decade,” he said. “Despite owning a shipyard in Port Glasgow, there clearly is no joined up strategy on public procurement in any meaningful way that is building a shipbuilding industry in Scotland.”
He argued that decision-making had become overly cautious.
“It seems to be a government run by risk averse procurement lawyers, rather than anyone with any semblance of knowledge about how to build an industrial base and develop value and wealth in Scotland,” he said.
The comments come alongside a recent parliamentary exchange in which Sweeney asked whether the procurement of replacement vessels could be directly awarded to a UK-based shipbuilder, or limited to a UK-only competition, under the national security exemption contained in section 45 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
In its written response, the Scottish Government said shipbuilding operates in a highly competitive global market and that any direct award must comply with both procurement and subsidy control legislation. Ministers argued that the planned vessels would be built to merchant standards and would not constitute defence platforms, placing them outside the defence-related exemptions referenced under section 45.
However, critics argue that section 45 is framed around national security necessity rather than vessel classification, and that a platform’s construction standard does not, in itself, determine whether the exemption could apply. They also point to the functional roles of marine protection and research vessels, which can include fisheries enforcement, maritime domain awareness and the protection of sensitive maritime infrastructure. Sweeney said the government’s position illustrated a wider reluctance to act in the national industrial interest.
“The government’s unwillingness to consider applying the exemption under the Subsidy Control Act of 2022 is yet another example of their complete unwillingness to deliver policy that is in the national industrial interest,” he said.
He also warned of a looming gap in work at Ferguson Marine, which is publicly owned by the Scottish Government.
“When Ferguson Marine is facing the prospect of significant redundancies this year, unless they get new work in the door, even if the Lord of the Isles ferry is directly awarded, it will take until next year to mobilise that project,” he said. “So there is going to be a crunch in work.”
According to Sweeney, current fabrication activity linked to Type 26 frigate units provides only limited coverage for steel trades, while outfit trades face particular risk if no further work is secured.
“There’s going to be a significant challenge for outfit trades if there’s not more shipbuilding work flowing through the yard in an end to end sense,” he said.
He called on ministers to fully capitalise Ferguson Marine in line with guidance from First Marine International and to establish a consistent pipeline of public-sector shipbuilding orders. Sweeney also urged the use of the Scottish National Investment Bank to support shipbuilding finance mechanisms.
“They need to create builders refund guarantee products and patient finance for shipbuilding in Scotland so that yards can start to win commercial export orders,” he said. “Without that, the whole thing has been nothing more than a superficial fig leaf to avoid the embarrassment of Ferguson Marine collapsing and closing altogether.”
The Scottish Government has not yet published a revised procurement timetable for the Marine Vessel Replacement Project beyond confirming that earlier indicative dates no longer apply.
Don’t worry: I’m sure they will find a way of blaming Westminster?
This says it all.. the one area the SNP has direct control over the defence of Scotland.. it does nothing to invest in. In the modern world of grey warfare and presence as a deterrent these vessels are important..