Scots executive fronts £800m Clyde shipbuilding revolution to resolve ferries crisis

The consortium that also includes Peter Breslin, managing director of Govan Drydock, have been in discussions with ministers about the ferry-building programme to replace the nation’s “obsolete” fleet and breathe new life into Scottish shipbuilding.

The project for 50 ferries for use by CalMac for the lifeline islands services off the west coast of Scotland and for services to Orkney and Shetland would cost £250m more than it has so far cost to build just four in Turkey and at Ferguson Marine in Scotland.

The group say they also expect the savings in operating subsidy to exceed £1 billion over the 20-year build programme period.

They say it means that the entire Scottish ferry fleet of some 50 vessels could in "large part" be financed through savings in operating subsidy, "without significant changes in user tariffs or Scottish Government having to find significant additional money".

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(From left) Peter Breslin,  Stuart Ballantyne and Professor Alf Baird 

"We believe this is a win-win project for the industrial regeneration of the Clyde," they said.

Under the current rate of ferry delivery, 50 ferries would take 140 years to complete.

The group, that also includes Professor Alf Baird, former director of the Maritime Research Group at Napier University say that their scheme would involve a further ten vessels for the export market for £200m over the 20 years.

It is envisaged that the major catamaran project would be based at nationalised Ferguson Marine, Inchgreen dry dock in Inverclyde and Govan dry dock.

The Govan dry dock dates back to the 19th century, and has been out of action for more than 40 years but there are hopes that it can be brought back into use. Govan Drydock has said it wants to return the A listed dry dock to a fully operational ship repair and maintenance facility by the end of this year.

It comes after the cost to build two CalMac ferries at the Ferguson Marine shipyard has soared by nearly £100m.

According to new Ferguson Marine estimates, the costs are now forecast to rise by nearly £100m from around £240m to nearly £340m.

The overall cost includes a lost £82.25 million paid by Scottish Government-controlled ferry owners Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) to Jim McColl-controlled Ferguson Marine under the original contract plus £45m in ministerial loans that have also been lost.

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Stuart Ballantyne's standard 50m catamaran ferry design is part of new 30-vessel Philippines fleet

Issues with building the ferries mean that Glen Sannox was originally not to see service till between March and May 2023 at the earliest, while Hull 802 was not due to set sail till between October and December 2023.

The handover of Hull 802 is not now planned until the first three months of 2024.

But Ferguson Marine has already raised concerns that CMAL might not accept the vessels because of continuing issues including problems with cabling and pipework.

In 2022, some 17 of state-owned ferry operator CalMac's 31 working ferries deployed across Scotland was over its 25-year-old life expectancy. The oldest in the CalMac fleet is is the Isle of Cumbrae which 46 years old.

And since the SNP came to power in 2007, the average of Scotland's lifeline vessels has soared from 17 years to 24 years. Back in 1974 the typical ferry was just 13 years old.

Peter Timms, chairman of ferry operator CalMac warned the government in 2010 that ferry investment had been "slipping behind for decades" and produced an analysis which concluded that finance was urgently required on a longer term, regular basis "to just stand still".

Since his warning only five vessels have been launched to support the network, and only two are considered as major ferries. They are the 5626 tonne MV Finlaggan, built in Poland in 2011 and the 9058 tonne MV Loch Seaforth built in Germany and launched in 2014.

Before his warning vessels were being produced at a rate of one every 14 months. Afterwards ferries were typically being produced every 33.6 months.

The group's plan for 50 catamarans at the current rate of delivery would take 140 years.

The group which has presented its case for change to the current CMAL ferry procurement process to transport minister Jenny Gilruth and finance secretary Kate Forbes said it is "not feasible or acceptable" to delay replacement "as many ships are already too old and need scrapped, plus cost of ship repair and maintenance is increasing markedly".

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"There is no coherent plan in place currently to meet any timescale, with CMAL continuing its failed procurement strategy based on in-house specified monohulls which excludes evaluation of the more optimal catamaran option. This failing should be rectified as a matter of urgency.

"The demand for a significantly increased service capacity exists and needs to be addressed, as does the urgent need to replace the fleet in a more cost-effective and affordable manner."

They say the plan will require a skilled workforce of around 1200 with hundreds more required in the supply chain.

"This will not only reinvigorate the shipbuilding industry but more importantly the Inverclyde and Govan areas which have many social and deprivation issues," the group said.

Dr Ballantyne has invited the Ms Gilruth and Ms Forbes to Australia to further outline how the scheme could work in practical terms.

"We can confirm the key advantages of cats over CMAL’s proposed landing craft, highlighting the lower operating costs (Opex) and higher earning capabilities," he has told the ministers in a letter.

"We also confirm that our designs can be built on the cheapest method of production basis, in any yard, including Ferguson’s."

They say that the annual operating cost of catamarans is around half that of current CMAL monohull vessels. And they say that means that operating subsidies will be expected to reduce as more catamarans begin to enter service.

To succeed in bringing major shipbuilding back to the Clyde would, however, require funding to refurbish both Inchgreen and Govan.

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Govan graving dock

The group are seeking public funding through Scottish Government and private investors to the upgrading of Inchgreen and Govan to the tune of £35m and £45m.

Stuart Ballantyne, who eight years ago received an honorary degree from Strathclyde University for services to the global maritime industry, believes Scotland has the skills and infrastructure to establish a commercial shipyard which could be used to produce ferries not just for Scotland but for the export market.

And the group says the Mr Ballantyne would offer a licence for his "proven" catamaran design that would form the basic vessel blueprint for most of the ferry fleet.

The group say: "This will replace the CMAL one-off designs which have been a major flaw in ferry strategy for building the new fleet.

"One off-design is more expensive as you are starting from scratch which takes time and money and requires new ship worthiness certification for each new ship.

"The proven designs removes the time it takes to approve design, planning and certification saving time and money.

"Proven and more efficient designs also take much less time to build and avoids uncertainties and problems in the shipyard associated with unique unproven prototype construction, which results in added cost and delay, as we have seen."

Prof Baird said: " Stuart Ballantyne's and my own analysis of cost is... if the cats were built here under license then we believe the cost would be (much less than) monohulls. This is also because the proven cat designs can be built much quicker than CMAL's heavy monohulls."

He said ministers "seriously need to clear the entrenched bureaucratic and blockages" within the tripartite of decision making on ferries between the Scottish Government agency with the funding Transport Scotland, the operator CalMac and the vessel owners and procurers CMAL.

"The required change really needs someone of Stuart's proven expertise to head a new management in CMAL and also Ferguson's, both of which still lack the right leadership and strategies."