INVERCLYDE'S SNP parliamentarians have been slammed by fellow nationalists and accused of 'betrayal' after another major Scottish ferries contract was awarded to an overseas shipyard.

MSP Stuart McMillan and MP Ronnie Cowan are described by the Alba party as having 'facilitated' a decision not to give the £115m worth of work to the nationalised Ferguson's yard in Port Glasgow.

The Scottish Government — which took control of Ferguson's in 2019 — and its Port Glasgow-based procurement quango CMAL announced on December 23 that their preferred bidder was a yard in Turkey.

Alba's general secretary, and former SNP group leader on Inverclyde Council, Chris McEleny, said: "Those of us who care about Scottish shipbuilding jobs warned that CMAL's decision to go to tender was an act of collusion with the Scottish Government to ensure the orders would go to overseas yards.

"It is bitterly disappointing that the MP and MSP for Inverclyde have sat on in silence and facilitated work, that should be getting carried out in Inverclyde, being sent abroad.

"This is a complete betrayal to shipyard workers in Inverclyde and to Scotland's proud shipbuilding tradition.

"Sneaking out the decision on the Friday before Christmas is nothing short of an act of cowardice on the part of CMAL and the Scottish Government, but it is one we will not let them get away with."

A lucrative contract for two new ferries for Islay had already been awarded to Cemre Marin Endustri in Turkey and now the yard is set to land the job to build another brace of Caledonian MacBrayne vessels.

Ferguson's bosses stated in November that they were considering not even bidding for the work, declaring they were concentrating on building smaller vessels of around 500 tons.

MSP Mr McMillan said: "While it's always disappointing to see work we could do go elsewhere I understand that as Ferguson’s did not bid, it could not be awarded the orders.

"The small vessels orders are vital for the yard and building a long term future of the yard.

"The Scottish Government have been working through the legal ramifications of a direct award and the sooner clarity on a direct award takes place the better.

"Ferguson Marine has proven its capabilities on building smaller vessels and it will need to re-build its reputation on the international marketplace to win more non-Scottish public body commercial work.

"The new management team at Ferguson Marine are making a positive difference and I am convinced that shipbuilding in Port Glasgow will continue to build its story with more ships for many years to come."

Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth said she was 'pleased to see CMAL name the preferred bidder for the two additional ferries'.

She added: "I hope this progress will be welcomed by island communities who depend on these lifeline ferry services.

"Our intention is that these vessels will be deployed on the Skye triangle routes to Lochmaddy and Tarbert, creating the opportunity to significantly increase capacity and resilience by delivering dedicated services to communities in the peak season.

"It will also allow consideration of all options to deploy Vessel 802 [being built at Ferguson Marine] on an alternative route.

"All of these options will be discussed with island communities, including potentially operating alongside her sister ship, the MV Glen Sannox, to provide additional capacity to and from Arran in the peak season."

A spokeswoman for CMAL said: "The procurement process was fair and transparent, and we are currently in a standstill period before the contract is signed.

"We will be able to share more detail in the new year."

The Tele invited Ronnie Cowan MP to comment but did not receive a response.