Ferguson Marine: Where is Ferguson Marine based, who owns the ferry building shipyard and what is its future?

The business, which was rescued from administration by the Scottish Government in 2019, is now seeking future work after Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa are completed - the latter due to be delivered in September next year.

The uncertainty follows turmoil over the past six years amid major problems with the ferry contract, which have in large part been blamed on wrong decisions made by its previous managements.

The mounting fiasco will see the two ferries finished at least seven years late and four times over their £97 million budget. However, the saga followed the successful completion of a series of smaller vessels for CalMac, and before them, five large ships for the operator built over the past 40 years, which are still in service.

Where is the Ferguson Marine shipyard?

The shipyard is located at the Newark Works in Port Glasgow, which it has occupied since 1903.

Who owns Ferguson Marine?

The Scottish Government since 2019 following the yard going into administration. It was previously owned by Jim McColl, an SNP-supporting businessman who runs East Kilbride-based investment firm Clyde Blowers Capital.

Mr McColl bought the yard in 2014 after it had gone into administration.

Why has the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa contract run into difficulties?

Ferguson Marine won the contract for the two ferries in 2015 with a completion date of 2018. However, an acrimonious row developed between the shipyard and the Scottish Government’s ferry-buying arm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal) over the order, with the yard complaining about numerous changes to the specification, which included a novel diesel and liquefied natural gas propulsion system.

It subsequently emerged the yard had carried out work out of sequence, which it has been claimed was to trigger contract payments, such as installing pipework prematurely which later had to be stripped out.

Cmal has said Glen Sannox was launched into the water in 2017 months too early - complete with its notorious painted-on windows - which added to costs.

The delays and cost increases have been attributed to work having to be redone correctly and in the right order. This led to a value-for-money assessment last year that showed it would be cheaper to scrap the semi-built Glen Rosa and order a new ferry instead.

However, ministers decided to press ahead to protect jobs at the yard and avoid further delays to a ferry being delivered.

Glen Sannox is now due to be finished at the end of July when it will undergo about two months of trials by CalMac before being expected to enter passenger service on the main Arran route to Brodick in October. Completion work is being done in Greenock because there is insufficient space for both ferries to be moored at the yard.

Glen Rosa, which will serve the same route, is scheduled to be finished in September next year.

What is the yard’s future?

A business plan that includes a request for some £25m investment to improve facilities to help make the yard better able to compete for future orders is being considered by ministers.

The GMB, the main union at Ferguson Marine, has called for ministers to directly award to the yard a contract for up to ten smaller electric ferries for CalMac, which are similar to a series it successfully built prior to Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa.

However, ministers have suggested this may not be possible under competition laws and it is thought likely the order will go out to competition.