Scottish state-owned shipbuilder Ferguson Marine said recently that it has been prevented from bidding for the construction of a new passenger vessel for local operator CalMac Ferries.
The company remarked that it failed to meet the eligibility requirements set by Caledonian Maritime Assets (CMAL), the owner of the vessels operated by CalMac.
Ferguson Marine Chief Executive Graeme Thomson told local media that the company's review of the prequalification criteria set by CMAL revealed that any shipbuilder in the UK will unlikely be able to satisfy the tender's minimum requirements. As a result, Ferguson Marine has decided not to submit a bid for a replacement for CalMac's 36-year-old ferry Lord of the Isles.
Thomson said that the lack of a procurement model that ensures the resilience of domestic supply chains would put UK shipyards at a disadvantage, as opportunities would be available for "heavily subsidised foreign competitors."
Local trade union GMB has called on CMAL to put the tendering process on hold and to explain why its bid criteria have prevented Ferguson Marine and other local yards from participating in the tender.
Louise Gilmour, General Secretary of GMB Scotland, commented that it, "beggars belief," that a Scottish shipyard would be barred by a Scottish public body from bidding for the construction of a ferry that would serve Scottish interests.
