Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray has admitted that it could be cheaper to scrap one of the CalMac ferries currently under construction by Ferguson Marine and start again.
But he said that the Scottish Government would still push ahead with finishing the existing vessel, as a new ferry could not be deployed until 2027 at the earliest.
The plan required him to issue a written direction to civil servants authorising spending on the ferry.
Grayconfirmed that this Ministerial Written Authority was issued in order to enable work on vessel 802 to continue. Without such authority, it would have to be re-procured and deployment of a new ferry potentially delayed for at least two-and-a-half years.
CalMac is currently waiting for two new vessels - Glen Sannox and the as-yet unnamed 802 - to be being constructed at the nationalised yard in Port Glasgow, with completion now several years late and massively over budget.
Gray said: “Our island communities deserve to be supported by two new, energy efficient vessels with the capacity and reliability required to support vibrant island economies.
“While I accept the pure value for money assessment on vessel 802 is challenging, this narrow calculation does not take into account the added delays, the wider benefits of continuing the vessel’s build at Ferguson Marine or the full cost of not doing so.
“If written authority to complete vessel 802 at Ferguson’s was not provided, we could be looking at a delay in deploying a new vessel to May 2027 at the earliest – four years from now and two-and-a-half years after 802 is due to be delivered.
“I do not consider that it is acceptable to ask our island communities to wait this further period. Also, the due diligence assessment cannot take into account the impact of withholding investment on the Inverclyde and wider Scottish economies.
“While the impact on our island communities and on our economy are not covered by the value for money assessment, they have guided the decisions I have taken, which recognise the broader social and economic benefits of completing both ferries and ensuring the yard continues to have a strong platform upon which to progress and prosper.”
Hull 802 is currently expected to be delivered next year and the costs for the two vessels are now around £300m.
Updating the Scottish Parliament, Gray added that the cost overruns were “extremely disappointing”.
Scottish Labour transport spokesperson Alex Rowley responded: “A string of SNP ministers have come and gone, but not one has ever been held accountable for this mess.
“At the heart of this scandal are island communities, shipyard workers and taxpayers being badly failed.
“Securing the yard and delivering these ferries is essential – but that is the bare minimum the government needs to do.
“The SNP must deliver these ferries without any more delays or overruns, and set out a real long-term plan to protect the future of the yard.”
GMB Scotland senior organiser Gary Cook said: “The workers of Ferguson Marine are skilled and committed but, for years, have been scapegoated for the failures of previous ministers and managers.
“It is easy to imagine a bright future for the yard after these ferries are built - that would be a future that keeps it in public-ownership, where it is directly awarded contracts for small ferries and where new generations of apprentices learn their trade in a busy, profitable business.
“That future is achievable but will demand ambition, strategic planning and investment to secure, so we again challenge all the parties to outline their plans for the future of the yard and its workforce.
“This yard and its workers have been a political football too long and it is time it became what it should be, a jewel in the crown of Scotland’s shipbuilding industry.”
Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said: “Doesn’t this show utter contempt for this Parliament and for the taxpayer and for the workers and the islanders that the Transport Minister left in the middle of this statement and didn’t even have the courtesy to listen to the questions being answered?
“But who cares? In for a penny, in for a million pounds.
“We’ve had eight years of this utter fiasco in which the government has soaked the taxpayer, has betrayed the islanders and has utterly humiliated the workers.
“Yet, we’ve had six ministers in that time, and not a single one of them, including the current First Minister, has lost their job for this fiasco.”
Conservative MSP Graham Simpson said Gray's statement was “rather embarrassing” and asked how much cheaper it would be to buy a new ferry elsewhere.
Gray said the yard’s chief executive was undertaking a detailed review of the remaining costs, which would be provided to parliament.
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