FERGUSON Marine's CEO has said his yard will be bidding against "unfair competition" in trying to secure the next CalMac ferry contract.
It comes after it was announced on Tuesday that the yard was refused a direct award for the Scottish Government's new £175 million contract for seven ferries.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said that from her understanding of the tender, the yard would still be eligible to put out a bid.
Speaking at the Port Glasgow shipyard on Thursday, John Petticrew said: "We have to bid against, in my opinion, unfair competition.
"The countries we're bidding against, we all know their governments are putting money into their shipyards."
Later on, he said he would be "disappointed" if state subsidy of foreign shipyards meant the yard loses out on future bids.
Most countries with substantial shipbuilding industries subsidise their yards, however the UK slowly ceased to do so in the 1970s and 1980s.
Poland and Turkey, which have either built or are contracted to build many of CalMac's large ferries, both have some form of subsidy for their shipbuilding industries.
During Tuesday's press briefing, it was also announced that Ferguson Marine would receive £14.2mn in funding to help it bid for work in the future.
Though hopes for the yard getting the new contract seemed low on Tuesday, officials still intend for the firm to put ahead a bid.
The Deputy FM also said that the decision to not directly award the contract to the yard came down to legal concerns.
Forbes said: "The reason it's not being awarded is because of the legal uncertainties and risks. When it comes to direct award, we have to satisfy the Consumer and Markets Authority.
"This is a very sensitive sector, it is designated as a sensitive sector, and that means there would be significant risks if we were to proceed down that route.
"It would create the worst of both worlds where the yard doesn't actually secure the work which they need to keep jobs, and the islanders don't get their vessels."
