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Contract for CalMac Small Electric Ferries Short-List Includes Embattled Clyde Shipyard Ferguson Marine

25th October 2024
Scotland’s Connectivity Minister, Jim Fairlie, announces the second stage of procurement for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme. Six yards, among them Ferguson Marina on the Clyde and Cammell Laird on Merseyside, have been invited to tender for seven new electric ferries for the Clyde and Hebrides network.
Scotland’s Connectivity Minister, Jim Fairlie, announces the second stage of procurement for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme. Six yards, among them Ferguson Marina on the Clyde and Cammell Laird on Merseyside, have been invited to tender for seven new electric ferries for the Clyde and Hebrides network. Credit: CMAL-Linkedin

On the banks of the Clyde, the embattled shipyard of Ferguson Marine has made it onto the shortlist to build seven small new electric ferries for Scottish government owned operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac).

The development for the Port Glasgow yard, which still struggles to complete the first of two dual-fuel powered CalMac ferries that are more than six years late, is up against five other overseas bidders for the £175 million order.

Among the bidders is the Turkish yard Cemre Marin Endustri, which won the last contract from CalMac for four ferries under construction for Islay off the Mull of Kintyre and the Little Minch in the Outer Hebrides. These new builds, as Afloat previously reported, are running four months behind schedule.

Ferguson Marine, which is also owned by the Scottish government, is not expected to win the latest Western Isles ferry order because it is seen as needing modernisation to become more competitive. The facility downriver of Glasgow city is to be funded by a £14 million state grant, which was announced in July.

More from The Scotsman’s coverage, and aside from the Port Glasgow yard, the only other UK-based shipbuilder shortlisted for the small electric ferry contract is Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, Merseyside.

The remaining shipyards are Asenav S.A. (Chile), Damen Offshore & Specialised Vessels. (Multinational), and Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. (Poland), which built the Finlaggan.

The ferry built in 2011 operates as the main Islay route vessel which had partnered the Hebridean Isles which at almost 40 years-old as Afloat reported is to be retired when withdrawn from service next month. 

The veteran vessel no longer operates Islay services but Afloat has tracked to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis where the route to Ullapool normally served by Loch Seaforth is currently operated by Isle of Lewis. This has permitted the largest ferry in the CalMac fleet to sail to shipyard Cammel Laird where it arrived yesterday to undergo annual overhaul dry-docking. 

Published in Shipyards
Jehan Ashmore

About The Author

Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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Shipyards

Afloat will be focusing on news and developments of shipyards with newbuilds taking shape on either slipways and building halls.

The common practice of shipbuilding using modular construction, requires several yards make specific block sections that are towed to a single designated yard and joined together to complete the ship before been launched or floated out.

In addition, outfitting quays is where internal work on electrical and passenger facilities is installed (or upgraded if the ship is already in service). This work may involve newbuilds towed to another specialist yard, before the newbuild is completed as a new ship or of the same class, designed from the shipyard 'in-house' or from a naval architect consultancy. Shipyards also carry out repair and maintenance, overhaul, refit, survey, and conversion, for example, the addition or removal of cabins within a superstructure. All this requires ships to enter graving /dry-docks or floating drydocks, to enable access to the entire vessel out of the water.

Asides from shipbuilding, marine engineering projects such as offshore installations take place and others have diversified in the construction of offshore renewable projects, from wind-turbines and related tower structures. When ships are decommissioned and need to be disposed of, some yards have recycling facilities to segregate materials, though other vessels are run ashore, i.e. 'beached' and broken up there on site. The scrapped metal can be sold and made into other items.