A NEW bid is being made to help create a Clyde shipbuilding revolution and save state-controlled shipyard Ferguson Marine after a world renowned naval architect met with yard boss John Petticrew in Greenock at the weekend.
Dr Stuart Ballantyne, executive chairman of Australian marine design, construction and management firm Sea Transport Corp, whose designs are used in 50 countries ignited new talks at the weekend over the building of ferries that it is believed will prevent closure of the yard.
Dr Ballantyne was a key part of the Clyde Catamaran Group which had meetings with ministers over an £800m scheme to provide a new fleet of 50 catamaran ferries built over 20 years which would cost a fraction of those currently being built.
Last year, the consortium that also includes Peter Breslin, managing director of Govan Drydock, said that despite discussions there had been no interest in taking the plan any further by either ministers or Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), the taxpayer-funded Port Glasgow-based company which owns and procures ferries.
But a fresh approach to Ferguson Marine has surfaced in the wake of new leadership of the Scottish Government, and a warning to ministers that the nationalised shipyard could have to close in a short period of time without urgent action.
The consortium has envisaged that the major catamaran project would be based at nationalised Ferguson Marine, Inchgreen Dry Dock in Greenock and Govan Dry Dock.
Dr Ballantyne met with Ferguson Marine interim chief executive John Petticrew for what has been described as 'informal talks' at Greenock's Tontine Hotel on Saturday.
Robert Buirds, secretary of the Campaign to save Inchgreen Dry Dock, said: "Assistance from the Scottish Government would secure the immediate future of the yard and the save the threatened 350 jobs. This would give breathing space for the yard and the Scottish Government to develop a longer term plan for the future of the yard.
"Stuart has supported the campaign ambitions for Inchgreen and the yard since he contacted us two years ago. We believe the next stage of securing the future of commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde is to link up Ferguson’s with Inchgreen dry dock.
"This would open up a larger market place for the yard in building larger ships but also diversifying into ship repair, servicing and maintaining when required. However major investment would be required to cover the dry dock protecting the workforce from the unpredictable Scottish weather and increasing productivity.
"We have forwarded the 20-year Scottish ferry building plan that we introduced to Kate prior to her maternity leave. We have asked for a further meeting to discuss our vision. The plan will create hundreds of new skilled jobs and regenerate Inchgreen, Govan and further develop Ferguson Marine.
Dr Ballantyne, who ten years ago received an honorary degree from Strathclyde University for services to the global maritime industry, has already got the nod from Fiji's prime minister to take his catamaran plans there.
The Clyde Catamaran Group includes Professor Alf Baird, former director of the Maritime Research Group at Napier University who has been nonplussed by Scotland's failure to grasp the nettle, and said Dr Ballantyne's deal with Fiji follows on from earlier successes in helping develop shipyard operations in Vietnam, Indonesia and China based on production of his proven ferry designs.
The consortium had been in talks with ministers and presented a seminar in 2022 over their plans attended by then CalMac chief executive Robbie Drummond - but said in the summer of last year that there was no tangible interest shown and criticised CMAL's failure to attend in person.
The group said they had expected the savings in operating subsidy to exceed £1 billion over the 20-year build programme period.
CalMac's parent company David MacBrayne Group (DMG) has received over £1bn in taxpayer subsidies over the first seven years of its contract to run the Clyde and Hebrides lifeline ferry services. The level of handout has soared from £131.939m in 2016/17 to more than £163m in 2021/22 including £11.7m in Covid funding. In 2022/23 that it rose again to £173.03m.
The group had been seeking public funding through Scottish Government and private investors for the upgrading of Inchgreen and Govan to the tune of £35m and £45m respectively.
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