MSPs want shamed former SNP minister Derek Mackay to explain his role in the ferry fiasco at Ferguson Marine.
The Scottish Government has faced severe criticism from opposition parties this week after auditors revealed the extent of the shambles at the Port Glasgow shipyard.
A contract for two new Caledonian MacBrayne ferries was handed to the yard in 2015 despite warnings from civil servants.
It was announced this week the vessels now won't enter service until 2023 at the earliest and will cost more than double the original estimate.
Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs it was a matter of "public record" that Mackay was the transport minister at the time the contracts were signed.
The First Minister added: "Ultimately, as with any decision, whether I am personally involved with them or not, responsibility stops with me."
Mackay quit politics in disgrace in 2020 and opposition parties have accused the Scottish Government of using the ex-MSP as a convenient scapegoat for failings at the shipyard.
Neil Bibby, Scottish Labour transport spokesman, said: "After years of delays and millions of pounds of overruns, the public deserve answers about what went so catastrophically wrong here.
"Nicola Sturgeon pointed the finger at her former Transport Secretary before accepting that the buck stops with her – but both dodged scrutiny last term by refusing to appear before a Parliamentary inquiry.
"We cannot keep getting useless answers from clueless Ministers who take no responsibility for this mess.
"Nicola Sturgeon and Derek Mackay must come before the Public Audit Committee to explain their roles in this sorry affair and shed some much needed light on how we got here.
"We need to get to the bottom of this scandal, which has wasted millions of pounds of taxpayer money, deprived island communities of desperately needed ferries, and done lasting damage to Scotland’s shipbuilding industry.”
Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said: "If we are to take the First Minister at her word, it was Derek Mackay and Derek Mackay alone who signed off on deals which are set to cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions more than originally scheduled.
“It is awfully convenient for Nicola Sturgeon that the latest scandal threatening to beset her government can be neatly blamed on someone who has since departed politics.
“Derek Mackay should appear before parliament to give his side of the story and confirm whether it is true that the First Minister and the rest of her cabinet had no input into the decision to take over Ferguson Marine.
“Island communities have been let down and deserve answers."
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Invites to parliamentary committees are entirely a matter for individual committees – not for the Government.”
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