A Turkish shipyard has been named as the preferred bidder to build two new ferries to serve Islay and Jura.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) intends to award the contract to Cemre Marin Endustri, with delivery of the first vessel expected in 2024 and the second in 2025.
There were no Scottish yards in the bidding process, with two Turkish, one Romanian and one Polish company submitting bids.
The Scottish Government owns the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow, which is currently building two other ferries, though these have been hit by extensive delays.
Opposition politicians have criticised the fact that manufacturing will take place abroad.
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “I’m very pleased to see CMAL name the preferred bidder for this vital project, which will see two new ferries built to serve the Islay routes.
“These links are some of the busiest services for freight on the Clyde and Hebrides network and the new vessels will help to grow the island’s economy, as well as bring added resilience to the fleet.
“This underlines the Scottish Government’s commitment to bringing in new ferries to support our island communities, we want to continue to see progress on bringing vessels into service on time and budget.
“We look forward to continuing to work with key stakeholders to develop programmes for major vessels and small vessels – investing at least £580m as part of our Infrastructure Investment Plan.”
Jim Anderson, director of vessels at CMAL, said: “Identifying a preferred bidder is a big step forward in the project to provide new vessels for Islay and Jura.
“All four shipyards submitted compelling bids, but with robust assessment of technical and financial criteria, Cemre Marin Endustri was the winner.
“We will now enter a 10-day standstill period before finalising the contract, at which point we will work closely with the yard to move on to the next stage of the procurement.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Graham Simpson said: “This is an embarrassment for the SNP.
“Their government-run yard at Port Glasgow is in no fit state to be considered for this contract.
“The two ferries being built there are nowhere near finished.
“It would come as no surprise if the Turkish yard completed these very welcome new vessels for Islay before anything leaves Ferguson Marine.
“The award is good news for islanders who will have a degree of confidence that they might actually see new ferries at the end of it.”
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