THE CHAIRMAN of Scotland's ferry fleet owners Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited is being quizzed by MSPs over a controversial vetting process which allowed Jim McColl's Ferguson Marine to bid for a ferry fiasco contract as a 'rigging' row continues to escalate.

The Herald revealed in May that Ferguson Marine could not fulfil mandatory requirements to qualify to even contest for the contract for two lifeline ferries which remain languishing in an Inverclyde yard, over five years later with costs soaring from £97m to nearly £350m.

Evidence showed that the tycoon's shipyard firm which was favoured by the SNP government could not give a commitment to provide a mandatory builder's refund guarantee (BRG) as required and was unable to provide other crucial financial details including records of past achievements.

The fails, which raised questions about the legality of the procurement process, were revealed in a confidential Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) completed by Mr McColl's Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL) before it was ever even considered as a preferred bidder for the building of Glen Sannox and Hull 802 to serve Scotland's islands.

Now the Scottish Parliament's Public Audit Committee, which is investigating the ferry debacle, is seeking confirmation from Morag McNeill, the interim chairman of CMAL, which procures vessels for CalMac's ferry fleet over whether Ferguson Marine had met the "mandatory requirements" of the PQQ.

Richard Leonard, convener of the Public Audit Committee has asked the CMAL executive to confirm whether at the PQQ stage, whether the ferry firm had sought evidence from any of the bidders, including Ferguson and their respective banks confirming a BRG could be provided.

He has also asked if bidders including Ferguson were asked to provide either a parent company or bank guarantee, and how this was undertaken.

It comes as the inquiry expands its approach to beyond the concerns raised by Audit Scotland which focussed on the initial and new arrangements after Ferguson was nationalised in August, 2019 to deliver the ferries.

Mr Leonard has told Ms McNeill: "We recognise that the [Auditor General's] report does not cover the detail of the procurement and design arrangements of the ferry contract. The ommittee considers it necessary however to establish more information about the tendering process, which ultimately led to the decision to award the contract to the former organisation Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited."

The Herald: .. (Image: Stock)

The PQQ stated that the inability to meet mandatory requirements would result in exclusion not just from any future bidding process, but from the scoring exercise itself. That would mean failing at the first of what was a three-step procurement hurdle.

But Ferguson Marine remained one of six companies with the highest scores which were be taken forward to the tender stage before a preferred bidder was identified.

In September last year, Ferguson Marine, less than a year into nationalisation, failed to get past the questionnaire stage in a similar procurement exercise carried out by CMAL for two new £105m lifeline ferry contracts which was awarded to Turkish shipyard Cemre Marin Endustri.

One of the "mandatory minimum requirements" set down by to Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), the Scottish Government-controlled firm that owns and procures CalMac’s ferries was to provide a BRG.

The guarantee had to be in place before work started and bidders such as FMEL had to provide an "evidentiary statement" in the form of a letter from the bank confirming a willingness to provide the guarantee "if requested to show you can provide this requirement".

But Mr McColl's Inverclyde-based shipyard firm was unable to give any make a firm commitment on the guarantee in the PQQ.

The Herald: The 100-tonne block lift of the bow to be connected onto Hull 802, in the Ferguson Marine shipyard, in Port Glasgow, Scotland, 26 April 2022. .At Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow), Hull 802 is fitted with its 100-tonne bow unit, which is the largest single

They merely stated in the questionnaire: "Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd understand your requirement for refund guarantees and will endeavour to comply with your request."

Another mandatory requirement that proved problematic involved the provision of a copy of audited accounts for the most recent two years and a statement of turnover, profit and cash flow for the most recent full year of trading.

Mr McColl's investment firm Clyde Blowers Capital had rescued the Ferguson's yard from adminstration just two months before bidding for the controversial contract.

Ferguson instead provided a forecast for 2015 and 2016 of net assets and closing cash balances.

There were also issues as a two-month-old company in meeting requirements in providing relevant project delivery experience.

Then transport minister Derek Mackay told local MSP Stuart McMillan in a letter three months after the questionnaire process, and six months before Mr McColl’s Ferguson Marine yard was to become preferred bidder that transport bosses saw refund guarantees as only “a preference”.

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Asked if CMAL had sought an evidentiary statement in the form of a letter from the bank confirming a willingness to provide the refund guarantee, Mr McColl said: "No-one sought any evidence [of a builder's guarantee] from a bank because FMEL made it clear that they could not put up a cash backed guarantee."

Transport Scotland interim chief executive Michelle Quinn is being asked by the audit inquiry to confirm whether a draft response was prepared by civil servants on behalf of transport minister to Mr McMillan which stated that CMAL had on occasion, taken an alternative approach to a BRG.

Mr McMillan has also been asked to hand over the key letter which raised further questions about the legality of the process.