Urgent investment need for state-owned shipyard, MSPs say

A cross-party group of MSPs has called for urgent funding to safeguard the state-owned Ferguson Marine shipyard.

A new report from Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee highlighted multiple and repeated failings, including leadership and board instability, inadequate internal audit, serious weaknesses in contractor oversight and governance failures around exit packages for senior staff.

It said these issues combined with cost overruns associated with the building of two new ferries, the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, had caused “significant reputational damage to the yard”.

The Glen Sannox, which serves Arran, finally entered service in January – it had originally been due for delivery in 2018. In May it was announced the Glen Rosa would be delayed by up to another nine months and would cost an additional £35m, meaning the two ships will cost more than £460m if written-off loans are included, which is more than four-and-a-half times the original contract price.

The audit committee has expressed concern about the increase cost and further delay to the Glen Rosa, calling on the Scottish Government to provide an “urgent clarification” of where the additional funds are coming from.

The report also noted that the state-owned yard does not have any orders lined up after its contract to deliver the ferry, something MSPs said “compounds the concern” about its future.

Committee Convener Richard Leonard MSP said: “It is clear to the Public Audit Committee that there has been a long standing weakness in the management, governance and financial sustainability of this yard. That there are currently no further orders raises significant concerns for us about the future of the last commercial shipyard on the Clyde and its workforce.

“This is a state-owned yard and the Scottish Government must do more to ensure that not only is its future secure, but that the MV Glen Rosa can be delivered as soon as possible. There has to be better oversight and governance of the work that is ongoing.”

He added: “There is no doubt that the yard has suffered significant reputational damage and that the workers at Ferguson Marine deserve better, the communities waiting for a new ferry deserve better and the people of Scotland deserve better.”