Two CalMac ferries being built at Fergusons shipyard in Port Glasgow are "obsolete" and will spew out "poisonous' gases, according to the former owner of the site.
Business tycoon Jim McColl took aim at the SNP government over its handling of the ferries fiasco during an evidence session of the Public Audit Committee at Holyrood.
McColl and the government have clashed since an Audit Scotland report published earlier this year revealed that two new vessels built at Ferguson Marine will now cost £250 million, more than double their original price and be around four years late.
Both sides have blamed one another with McColl saying contracts were given "for political purposes".
Nicola Sturgeon and her minister have, on a number of occasions, hit back at McColl over his claims.
During the committee hearing McColl was asked about the vessels that are currently being built at the yard.
He told MSPs they are now "obsolete" and that they will be "putting out poisonous gases" because they are "not green vessels".
McColl added: "They shouldn't have LNG (liquefied natural gas) vessels there. CalMac didn't want them. Luke van Beek (a former adviser to the Scottish Government on shipbuilding) gave evidence about speaking to the chief executive at the time of CalMac.
"They said they didn't want LNG. There are no bunkering arrangements in place for LNG, and it's going to cost a lot of money to put that in place. They'd have to ship tankers up from the Isle of Grain.
"They can't do that, and they are now obsolete technology. There are a couple of papers recently, one from a Norwegian minister saying that they wouldn't be buying any more LNG fuel vessels. There's an industry report out saying that the emissions from LNG vessels are 80 per cent more toxic than diesel fumes and they all have to be eliminated.
"So you're now completing two vessels that are obsolete and you're not going to run them in LNG anyway, because the infrastructure is not there.
"If you did, you're going to be putting out poisonous gases between Brodick and Ardrossan and the other routes as well.
"These are not green vessels. So they were wrongly spec'd. The government had been advised by the Ferry Advisory Committee, which was wound up but before it was wound up, the two experts on it wrote a final report.
"They'll tell you that they are wrongly spec'd."
'Damning indictment'
Following the committee Scottish Tory Shadow Transport Minister Graham Simpson said: "Jim McColl’s testimony completely undermines the SNP’s sole defence for the entire ferries fiasco, namely that Ferguson Marine would have folded and hundreds of jobs would have been lost had they failed to award the yard the contract.
"He was adamant that this was not the case, and that he now wishes the yard had never landed the fateful Scottish Government contract because it would have prospered without it and, ultimately, been spared ‘catastrophic’ nationalisation.
"His evidence was a damning indictment of the SNP’s role in a scandal that has betrayed both our island communities and taxpayers. It also further strengthened the case for a full independent inquiry to get to the bottom of this murky affair."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802 will be vital additions to Scotland’s ferry network and the dual fuel technology ensures they will be greener, quieter and more reliable than previous vessels.
"While LNG is not a long-term alternative to MGO for ferries, it is a proven technology that offers around 20% less carbon emissions than MGO. It also has significant local air quality benefits, with shore-powering providing for overnight powering of vessels and significant local noise and air quality improvements for residents and crew.
"LNG infrastructure, including appropriate storage facilities and supply connections, are being developed as part of port expansion and improvement works on routes where the new vessels are expected to be deployed.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
