Scottish ministers nationalised 118-year-old Ferguson Marine after it ran into difficulties building two ferries for CalMac, a state-owned operator that runs services between the Scottish mainland and surrounding islands. Finance secretary John Swinney announced on Wednesday that the Scottish Government was cutting 10m for the free laptop project. Ferguson Marine: MSPs investigating ferries fiasco visit shipyard While clarification questions are a normal part of tender evaluation, for other yards they consisted of a simple list of numbered questions. the procurement process began in july 2014 and a bbc scotland investigation last week revealed a document detailing technical requirments for the vessel by cmal - caledonian maritime assets, the. CMAL's assessors later gave the Polish yard a "poor" score, while Ferguson was ranked as "good" in this section of their evaluation. [11], The construction of both hulls has been marked by repeated delays and mechanical issues, which has pushed their in-service date back by five years from the original planned date. In Depth Scotland's ongoing ferry fiasco: what you need to know Delays in the delivery of two new CalMac passenger ferries have caused a major political scandal The Week Staff 13 May 2022. [4], At the time that contract was awarded there were concerns that Ferguson Marine had not built any ferries of this size in the recent past. A leaked email from early July reveals that the head of vessels at its procurement agency CMAL believed such a timetable would be "hugely challenging". He said this "whetted our appetite" but it was too "messy" to buy the yard at this stage as there were problems, such as debts, which administrators would need to clear up. [2] Research shows the replacement of ferries fell from one every 14 months from 1993 to 2007 (with 33,350 tonnes launched), to one every 36.1 months from 2007 to 2021 (with 16,188 tonnes launched). Public inquiry call as failure to order fuel sensors for Scots fiasco As well as assessing shipyards' capabilities, it set out the requirement - written in red capital letters - for evidence confirming the yard could provide a Builder's Refund Guarantee, which protects any advance payments issued by the buyer. John Sturrock QC: CalMac ferries fiasco - Scottish Legal News She promised a full review but stopped short of a public inquiry. Ferry fiasco: Slipway slips continue - BBC News Emails seen by the BBC show that CMAL's assessors clearly knew the identity of the shipyards they were scoring. Opposition critics claimed there were still "vital questions" to be answered on the ferry fiasco and hit out at the "culture of secrecy and deflection. [8], By the end of September 2022, the cost estimates from Ferguson Marine to put both ferries into service had risen by another 100 million to a total of 340 million. [6], The Scottish Government announced they were signing the contract with Ferguson Marine on the first day of the Scottish National Party Conference in October 2015. It appeared to be heading towards oblivion until, in August that year, in a deal brokered by then-first minister Alex Salmond, the industrialist Jim McColl, then a firm supporter of Scottish independence, stepped in to save it. The fiasco on Scotland's ferries continues and still seems far from a safe harbour. Opposition parties argue the Ferguson's fiasco is just one of a series of troubled deals by the Scottish National party government that have put hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money at risk, including buying Prestwick airport and underwriting guarantees worth 545m . Scottish Conservatives transport spokesman Graham Simpson called for a public inquiry into the fiasco. Ian Jack Chasing Steel: Scotland's Ferry Fiasco LRB 22 September 2022 Transport Scotland also told CMAL's PR agency Clark Communications to "hold off" accepting requests to interview Mr Hobbs due to internal discussions at our end about the way forward. The Scottish government gave the go-ahead for the procurement of two new large CalMac ferries in the summer of 2014, with the original plan to name the preferred bidder by end of March 2015. This was to be provided in the form of a banker's letter. Ferry fiasco: Holed and listing badly - BBC News [38], In a written response to the Public Audit Committee Mackay said that he had "confidence" in the recommendation, and that there was expectation the contract would receive "sufficient monitoring and oversight". Ferguson's new managers, meanwhile, were pressing ahead with the build to hit production milestones agreed with CMAL. .. The 45,000 or so inhabitants of the Hebrides depend on ferry links to deliver essential supplies; to take people back and forth to jobs and medical appointments on the mainland; and to bring in tourists, their economic lifeblood. Gerard Butler's new thriller Plane trails in wake of Con Air and Die Hard, The frenzied action movie leans heavily on classics from the past and just about gets by thanks to the banter between Butler's pilot Brodie Torrance and jailbird Louis Gaspare, played by Mike Colter, Angus Robertson blasted for 'swanning around overseas' while millions of budget cuts are made. The procurement timetable was later extended, with preferred bidder not announced publicly until 31 August 2015 and contract signing in October. And attempts to update them have embroiled the Scottish government in a major scandal. Ferries fiasco: Threat of legal action connected to contract award One of the two CalMac ferries being built on the Clyde may end up being mothballed, a former UK government minister has warned.Two new ferries are to be dedicated to the Uig-Tarbert and Uig . It adds that it may raise significant procurement risks and warned a successful legal challenge could be high and potentially see the contract declared ineffective. A FAILURE to build sensors into one of the ferries at the centre of Scotland's ferry fiasco means that it remained unsafe to operate, it has emerged. The "Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow" sculpture with Glen Sannox in the background, Jim McColl confirmed that he looked into buying Ferguson before it went bust, Evidence that a builders refund guarantee could be provided was a mandatory requirement before being allowed to bid, Ferguson was allowed to resubmit drawings for a much lighter ship, Tim Hair was paid nearly 1.3m during his time as turnaround director, 1: Jim McColl was already looking at buying the yard before it went into administration, 2: CalMac's specification was based on a ship designed for a Swedish route, 3: Ferguson was allowed onto the shortlist despite not meeting a mandatory requirement, 4: Assessors knew whose bids they were scoring, 5: A key document gave Ferguson an advantage, 6: CalMac's experts thought a rival bid was better, 7: Ferguson's design changed significantly after the submission deadline, 8: Ferguson's initial price was 37m higher than the cheapest bid, 9: CMAL and CalMac were often at loggerheads over the design, 10: Workers had no confidence in 'turnaround director' Tim Hair, Jeremy Bowen on reporting from Ukraine's frontline. Research by the Lib Dems has found that 7431 ferry sailings were cancelled in Scotland's Western Isles between January and July 2022. CMAL warned; "The current rate at which cable is pulled presents a serious threat to the project". Want to join the conversation? 2022 BBC. The SNP ferries fiasco has taken another nasty turn - Scotland Matters It has been revealed that CalMac, CMAL and Transport Scotland all collaborated to avoid answering questions about the Ferguson Marine scandal. With new ferries now 5 years overdue and two-and-a half times over . It started as farce but is quickly turning into something more ugly, perhaps even sinister. Chiefs at Remontowa said laywers were weighing up the move as they be Please register or log in to comment on this article. Both the Glen Sannox and Hull 802 are millions of pounds over budget and more than five years late due to problems with the Port Glasgow yard, which included the business going into administration. A POLISH shipyard is considering a multi-million court challenge over claims a Scottish Government ferries contract was rigged. Nicola Sturgeon warned her ministers should resign if there is further chaos over botched ferries. They may have dismissed the documentary as sensationalist but without it, the Scottish public might never have discovered the true extent of Fergusons preferential treatment. When this was queried, it said it was having discussions with the Scottish government regarding "bonding for ship contracts in general" and that the issue will "hopefully be sorted". Swinney subsequently claimed he was only providing "budget approval", rather than approval for the contract itself, as there would be significant inefficiency in Government if a senior Cabinet Minister was involved in approving every contract. The BBC Scotland documentary disclosed new details, SNP MP Angus MacNeil puts 'party loyalty' above island residents as he stays silent on CalMac, Audit Scotland yet to begin investigation into ferry fiasco despite BBC Scotland allegations, 'Pathetic' Chris McEleny claims victory in shipyard Union Flag row amid questions over SNP Government role. Hull 801 and Hull 802, as they were known, were expected to be delivered in mid-2018. By Lucia Osborne-Crowley. Two vessels that the yard was contracted to build in 2015 will be delivered five years late, at a cost estimated at 250 million, roughly two and a half times the original budget. Nats boast 'Croatia is not in euro' just eight weeks before it joins! He refused to be interviewed on camera and refused to answer any questions when doorstepped by the BBC. Ferguson's design was the heaviest ship, requiring the largest engines. While 1.3m was added to the Ferguson bid, a shipyard in Turkey had 4.5m added to its price. The average age for each ferry is 24 years old, of the 10 largest ferries, four are over 30 years old, which is beyond their expected operational life and the MV Isle of Arran 38 years old. Further threat ferry fiasco ships may never be delivered as cost to "It is increasingly clear that a public inquiry will be inevitable to get to the bottom of what has gone wrong here as we are still left asking basic questions with no answers., Scottish ministers failure to provide full disclosure or initiate a public inquiry makes it look like they and their agencies have something to hide., A CalMac spokesperson said: The Disclosure Scotland programme raised a number of serious questions and the emails quoted were sent three weeks prior to the programme being broadcast and the details contained within the programme being known.. In the summer of 2014, the last shipyard on the lower Clyde, Ferguson Shipbuilders, went bust. The MSPs' report into the "catastrophic" mismanagement of CalMac ferry building is hard-hitting, but it doesn't end the Ferguson ferry fiasco. READ MORE: SNP MP Angus MacNeil puts 'party loyalty' above island residents as he stays silent on CalMac. In a damning report MSPs call for "root and branch" reform of the system for procuring ships for Scotland's publicly-owned ferry network. In 2017, theGlen Sannoxwas launched at a ceremony attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of CMAL, told CalMac and the Scottish Government that two sources were approached by BBC journalist Mark Daly. The ferries fiasco is emblematic of a culture of incompetent defeatism and buck-passing that is widespread in Scottish public life, but never more damaging than in industrial policy. Alf Young: Nicola Sturgeon faces boatload of questions on ferries fiasco Now, it looks as though Hull 802 may not even be used for the original route it was promised to serve, as CalMac . However, when it was asked to submit a lighter Model 10-based design, it also dropped its price to about 101m, giving it crucial extra points. Scottish rowan tree that is 'a portal to another world' narrowly pipped to title of best in Britain, The Portal Tree in the grounds of 18th century Mavisbank House in Midlothian finished in second place in the public vote to the Waverley Abbey Yew in Surrey. CMAL has previously said that during the tender process Ferguson made "no comment" on a section of the draft contract relating to guarantees - and it took this as "tacit acceptance" of the condition. Jim McColl claimed the contract was rushed through to coincide with the SNP conference in 2015 and the subsequent nationalisation of the yard was also rushed for political purposes. After the contract was awarded, Ferguson's design team carried out model testing with CalMac's preferred smaller engine size, but found it was unable to deliver on other key requirements. The Scottish Conservative leader revealed that redacted sections of a document could be read through the use of copy and paste, announcing the details in front of MSPs at First Ministers Questions. ", "Leaked dossier suggests Scottish ferry deal may have been rigged", "Presentation to the Arran Ferry Committee 10 April 2017", "N Pictures Launch Of Ferry Glen Sannox At Port Glasgow", "Scotland's Ferry Fiasco: What went wrong? The ferries have still not been delivered with some estimating that the fiasco could cost taxpayers more than 300m. CMAL also held an in-person meeting with Ferguson, which was not extended to other bidders. This was due to Ferguson Marine getting sight of a detailed document with technical specifications and also getting a secret meeting with CMAL, which no other shipyard got. These had been fitted so that the builder could claim a "milestone payment" from the Scottish Government. It's consequences felt not just on the island communities served by them, but in the industrial communities that should be benefitting from constructing them. Scottish Tory transport spokesperson Graham Simpson said: "This may be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the dodgy dealings over these ferries, but its still disgraceful to see publicly-owned bodies closing ranks to avoid scrutiny in this way. Visit our corporate site www.futureplc.com Future Publishing Limited, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. [19] In the meantime, Island community groups making representations to the Scottish Parliament, say the continued disruption and unreliability of ferry services have an "appalling" impact on them, and they are now in a "critical situation". The Highlands and Islands MSP said the ferries fiasco was a "Scottish disgrace". In the rush, some errors slipped though, such as references to "passenger cabins" which were not relevant to CalMac ships. FERRY FIASCO: Nicola Sturgeon dodges Douglas Ross' questions about accepting ferries responsibility No views Sep 29, 2022 0 Dislike Share Save The Scottish Sun 5.47K subscribers At FMQs,. SCOTS ministers are coming under pressure to give a contract to build two new Scots ferries to its own shipyard which is at the centre of the nation's vessel-building fiasco. McColl, Fergusons former boss, claims his firm was forced to work to a purely political timetable: that the SNP wanted a good news story to announce at its party conference, and rushed through the contract without normal safeguards. Ferries fiasco will keep haunting the Scottish Government. Within a year, CMAL was reporting serious technical and quality concerns. The document added: The impact of a successful legal challenge could be high in the worst case the contract could be declared ineffective and a challenge could be brought at any time as the contract terms are not being made public. 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