Scottish Ministers have been asked to "come clean" as fears grow over the collapse of the nationalised shipyard firm at the centre of the ferry-building fiasco, reports The Herald.
It comes after The Herald On Sunday, revealed the Scottish Government-controlled owners of Scotland’s lifeline ferries flagged concern of a risk of administration for the shipyard company at the centre of the vessel building fiasco.
An analysis from former managers of the Port Glasgow shipyard at the centre of a ferry-building fiasco referred to “inevitable failure for the business” because of the way it was being run.
Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Holdings (FMPG), which is controlled by ministers and supported by taxpayer cash, made a £100 million loss in its first four months of Scottish Government control (that took place in 2019).
Two previous companies running the Ferguson Marine shipyard have gone into insolvency in the past seven years.
Auditors for the state-owned FMPG have said there are no guarantees that it will continue to operate in the future although directors of FMPG have signed off recent financial statements on a “going concern” basis.
Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, Liam Kerr MSP, said: “This latest sorry development suggests there’s a fresh risk of collapse at Ferguson Marine.
“SNP ministers must come clean about their plans for the future of this company.
“Costs on ferries have already soared and the yard itself has lurched from one financial problem to another in recent years.
“The public are losing a fortune. The SNP Government has to deliver a plan that puts Ferguson Marine on a sustainable long-term footing.”
Questions over FMPG’s status have come in internal discussions held by the owners and procurers of Scotland’s ferry fleet, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), in considering continuing risks to them over failures in contracts to build two lifeline ferries.
The newspaper has much on this story.
