FERGUSON Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow is among six firms being invited to bid for a seven-vessel Scottish ferry contract.
The small electric ferries are to be built to help support island communities and improve the resilience of the Clyde and Hebrides network.
The first stage of the competitive tender process assessed shipyards interested in bidding for the contract against specific criteria including facilities, capacities and capabilities to take on the project.
Ferguson Marine and five other yards have been selected to progress to Invite to Tender (ITT) stage.
The others are Asenav S.A. (Chile), Cammell Laird (UK), Cemre Marin Endustri A.S (Türkiye), Damen Offshore & Specialised Vessels. (Multinational) and Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. (Poland)
The contract is for Phase 1 of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme, the estimated costs for which are around £175 million, which includes allowances for the seven vessels as well as port improvements and shore power upgrades.
The tender returns are expected by January 2025, with a view to awarding the contract in March 2025.
Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity Jim Fairlie said: “The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to improving our ferry fleet to better meet the needs of island communities, so I’m very pleased to see the second stage of procurement process for seven new small vessels get underway today.
“Our intention is that these ferries would be deployed on seven existing routes, but would also bring benefits to two other routes from the redeployment of existing vessels. The new vessels will also be electric, helping us to deliver a significant improvement in emissions and local air quality and taking us towards a lower carbon ferry network.
“This procurement is a vital step forward in our plans to improve our ferry services and I look forward to following its progress closely over the coming months.”
Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive at CMAL (Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd), said: “We received interest from many shipyards across the world, and carried out a robust assessment against set criteria, including their suitability to take on this project.
“Six shipyards scored the highest across the criteria, and have now been issued an ITT for the contract. We look forward to reviewing the tender documents in the new year, and delivering the electric vessels which will continue our rejuvenation of the fleet and shore infrastructure for island communities.”
