The Scottish Government is “determined” to see two new CalMac ferries being built on the Clyde completed, but an ally of Humza Yousaf insisted ministers have not given Ferguson Marine a blank cheque for the vessels.
Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray was speaking after the Scottish Government used a ministerial directive to overrule advice that said continuing to build the second of the two boats at the Port Glasgow yard does not represent value for money.
He insisted that had he not taken the “rare” decision to overrule the advice, the future of the shipyard would have been “in jeopardy” while islanders would have to wait longer for a new vessel.
Gray accepted the delays and cost overruns associated with the construction of the Glen Sannox and the as-yet-unnamed hull 802 had been a “difficult period for the yard and the government”.
But he told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “The decision I have taken to proceed ensures that we see the vessels arrive on the routes they are intended for without any further delay.”
The Glen Sannox could enter service this autumn, or at the latest before the end of this year, Gray said, but its sister ship is not now expected to be completed until next year.
Meanwhile the costs for the two vessels are now around £300m, having increased from £97m.
Gray conceded it has been a “really difficult episode” and ministers are “looking to ensure lessons are learned”, adding: “We would have hoped that things would have gone better, obviously, we have said that all along.
“We have made no bones about it, we have apologised to our island communities, who deserve these vessels as quickly as possible.
“The decision I took yesterday was the only one to guarantee that happens timeously, and that we do so by protecting public money as far as we possibly can.”
He said there is “more work to do now” with Ferguson Marine to try to minimise further possible cost overruns.
After he told MSPs that scrapping the deal for Ferguson Marine to build hull 802 and re-tendering for the vessel would mean it is not completed until 2027, Gray was asked if he has effectively given the shipyard a blank cheque.
He replied: “No, it is absolutely not a blank cheque, I made that explicit to the chief executive yesterday that we must ensure that we protect the costs as far as we possibly can.”
While Gray said the current economic situation, “including spiralling inflation”, could have an impact, he stressed he wants to “ensure we can protect, as far as possible, the budget that has been set”.
He added: “The yard gets this, the chief executive gets this, understands the public consternation that there is that we cannot see continued and further escalating cost overruns.
“There have been risks outlined that the yard needs to work on and minimise any further cost overruns.”
He spoke to Ferguson Marine chief executive David Tydeman on Tuesday about the need to “make sure we deliver these vessels as quickly as possible but also we do so without any further unnecessary cost overruns”.
Gray added: “I can accept there is understandable anger, not just in our island communities for whom this is incredibly important, but for people across Scotland, that this is an incredibly difficult situation and we want to make sure we get this right.”
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