SHIPBUILDER Ferguson Marine has placed three contracts, worth more than £15 million, with Scots companies to continue work on two CalMac ferries
It’s hoped that the move, in order to further progress the completion of MV Glen Sannox and the as-yet unnamed Hull 802, will create and secure more than 200 jobs in the supply chain.
The contracts include the supply of electrical and control equipment by Wartsila’s Scottish subsidiary, Wartsila Ships Electronics Services.
The Port Glasgow company’s Inverclyde-based firm Blu Marine is to provide support for the dual fuel vessels’ passenger areas, while Babcock, Dales Marine and McEvoy Engineering will manufacture pipework.
Ferguson says it has spent the last six months managing the contracts, allowing them to bring in some supply contracts from the previous shipyard owner.
The shipyard had previously fallen into administration in August 2019, before a rescue deal from the Scottish Government saved it from closure.
Tim Hair, turnaround director at Ferguson Marine, said: “With these new contracts in place, we can press ahead with the work to bring the dual fuel vessels to completion.
“We estimate that, combined, more than 200 jobs will be created or secured in the supply chain through these contracts.”
The development is sure to be a much-welcomed positive step in a controversial journey for the building of the two vessels.
The contract for the CalMac order was originally won by the shipbuilder back in August 2015 in a £97m deal, with the delivery of the ferries intended to be completed
by 2018.
But the deal soon descended into construction difficulties, overruns, budget increases and a major row involving Holyrood and Calmac’s owners, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMal).
The cost of building the ships increased to an estimated £230m, while the delivery date of the vessels, set to serve Scotland’s west coast, is now delayed by four years.
Further hindrances were caused by the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdown, which alone added an extra £3.3m onto the project costs.
This setback is expected to be considered as an exceptional item, however, meaning it will not technically be treated as an extra cost.
Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop told MSPs last month that the ferries will be delayed by a further six months each, meaning completion will not take place until at least April 2022 and December 2022.
She said at the time: “This has been a hugely challenging year for the business. The Covid pandemic has essentially closed the yard for six months. Despite that interruption to business, much has been achieved.”
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