Ferguson Marine has insisted they can build the seven new CalMac ferries, despite failing to meet basic requirements set out in the tender document.
John Petticrew, the boss of the state-owned shipyard, said they would bid “aggressively” for the £175m contract.
READ MORE: Scottish Government unveil £14m investment in Ferguson Marine
He was speaking at Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes visited Port Glasgow on Thursday following the Scottish Government's £14.2 million investment in the Inverclyde-based firm “to improve productivity and build a sustainable future.”
Unions and local politicians had previously urged the government to bypass the open competition and directly award the contract for the new ferries to safeguard the future of the state owned yard.
However, that was rebuffed with ministers warning it would leave the process open to legal challenge.
According to the Scottish Sun, the tender documents for the new vessels require companies bidding to produce three examples of similar projects being delivered “in the last five years”.
However, Ferguson Marine has only built one vessel in that time. The two lifeline ferries, the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa are six years late and will cost around three times the original £97m price tag.
Meanwhile, the Scotsman reported that privately ministers do not expect the yard to win the contract, but that the £14.2m investment for upgrades should put them in a good position to bid three larger electric ferries due to go out to tender next year.
Speaking to journalists, Ms Forbes said she had "confidence" in the Ferguson Marine workforce.
She said the Glen Rose and Glen Sannox were “considerably more complex” than the seven smaller vessels.
The Deputy First Minister said: “By all accounts the Glen Sannox has been the most complex vessel that they have built and it is considerably more complex than the small vessels, which they have a track record in delivering.”
Ms Forbes, who is the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, added: “There is a number of vessels that operate in and round the islands I represent which were built by Fergusons pre-nationalisation, and they have also been delivering a number of vessels over the period they have been building the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa.
“I have confidence in the skills that are here, I don’t think it has ever been the skills that has been to blame for any of the challenges these vessels have faced.”
READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Time to stop kicking Ferguson Marine shipyard around
Mr Petticrew – brought in after the sacking of his predecessor David Tydeman in March – confirmed Ferguson Marine will compete to build the small ferries.
He said: “We will bid for them, we will aggressively bid for them and hopefully we are in the ballpark.”
Asked if he was frustrated by the lack of a direct award, Mr Petticrew said: “Frustration is not the word.
“I think we need to invest in this company for the future, I think we need to concentrate on finishing these ferries right now, concentrate on getting the workforce to the standard we need to get for future work.
“We’ve got to look long-term rather than short-term.”
Asked why the work should go to Ferguson Marine given the issues with the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, he added: “I can’t speak to the past. I have been here just over two-and-a-half months.
“We’ve made improvements, we made mistakes in the past, there were lessons learned, you are going to see those lessons learned going on to the Glen Rosa.”
He said the yard will have to bid against “unfair competition”, claiming foreign shipyards will be in the running which benefit from “their governments putting money into those shipyards”.
Mr Petticrew added he will be “disappointed” if the new contract goes to a foreign yard, but he is confident Ferguson Marine will still be in business in two years’ time.
He said the management is “looking at the overall business plan if we weren’t to get this contract”, stressing “there is other work out there”.
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