THE First Minister said the controversial use of steel from China on new lifeline ferries is a matter for the Turkish shipyard that is building them.

Ministers have come under fire after it emerged that the two ferries being built for Islay at the Turkish shipyard Cemre Marin Endustri are using Chinese steel because sourcing materials from war-torn Ukraine has been ruled out.

The Turkish shipyard is over three months into the construction of the ferries as part of a £105m contract controversially given to the Turkish shipyard eight months ago.

They have already been named preferred bidder to win a £115m contract to build two more ferries for longsuffering islanders as attempts are made to shore up the nation’s ageing ferry fleet.

Questions have been raised about why the steel had not been sourced from Dalzell plate mill in Motherwell, Scotland's last major steelworks which was formally reopened by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2016.

China was the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in 2021, accounting for nearly 31 percent of the global emissions.

The United Nations has accused Communist China of "serious human rights violations" in a long-awaited report into allegations of abuse in Xinjiang province.

Liam Kerr, the Scottish Conservatives' shadow cabinet Secretary for net zero, energy and transport said asked whether the First Ministers was comfortable with the ferries being built in China at a Scottish Parliament session.

He said: "The climate change committee's report last month wasn't just critical, it was devastating in exposing this government's failures on the environment and emissions. So is the First Minister comfortable that the steel for these two ferries is coming not from a Scottish steel mill, there's one around 40 miles from here, for example, but rather from China, the world's largest polluter, whose steel sector is the second largest contributor to its emissions."

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Ms Sturgeon responded: "In terms of the steel of course that is matter for the company that has the contract. The contract awarded is a standard international shipbuilding contract and as such, the decision regarding materials and equipment lies with the shipyard. I understand that the shipyard may originally have intended to source steel from Ukraine, but obviously had to look elsewhere. So these are decisions that the shipyard will take, and I'm sure they will apply all necessary objectives to the decisions that they reach."

She was also quizzed about why the ferries will now be built in Turkey.

The First Minister responded: "In line with relevant procurement legislation. The ferries currently being built for service on the Islay routes were awarded following a full and open tendering process led by [Scottish Government ferry procurement agency Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited], which of course is the procuring authority, the bid received from the yard represented the best value for money in terms of quality and price."

She added: "Over recent weeks, the leader of the member's party has questioned me in this chamber, rightly so and seemed to suggest that somehow we hadn't followed proper procurement policies in the award of other ferry contracts. It's really important to stress that in all of these matters, we comply with relevant procurement legislation."

Scottish steel magnate Sir David Murray said he was surprised the steel had not been sourced from the Dalzell plate mill in Motherwell which saved after being mothballed by Tata Steel in 2015, along with the Clydebridge plant in Cambuslang.

The Scottish government set up a steel task force after Tata announced it was mothballing the plants in Motherwell and Cambuslang, with a total loss of 270 posts.

The government later bought the mills for £1 and immediately sold them to Liberty, part of the GFG group.

The Scottish government provided Mr Gupta with a £7 million loan, which remains unpaid, to facilitate the purchase.

The Herald: Sanjeev Gupta, the head of the Liberty Group, following a ceremony where Tata Steel has handed over the key to two Lanarkshire steel plants to metals firm Liberty House, at Dalzell steelworks in Scotland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday

As part of the deal, ministers agreed to protect Tata Steel from potential future costs for the Dalzell site, while Liberty House - and its parent company, GFG Alliance - made a similar commitment to the government.

In the Islay ferries contract award, CMAL, which owns the nation's ageing ferry fleet, had invited four overseas companies to bid to build the two vessels bound for Islay - and excluded Ferguson Marine.

Now state-controlled Ferguson Marine, failed to get past the first Pre Qualification Questionnaire hurdle in the Islay ferries contract and is still struggling to produce two delayed vessels.

The award to Turkey was previously described by Scottish Conservative shadow transport minister Graham Simpson as "an embarrassment for the SNP".

Transport Scotland has said it is hoped that the latest ferries to be built in Turkey will be in place by 2026 and that they will serve the communities of Harris and North Uist, which have suffered severe disruption since the beginning of this year.

The Scottish Government agency had previously confirmed that the new ferries will be built to the same specification as those which are being designed and built in Turkey for Islay.