FERGUSON Marine has been handed a major boost after making it through to the next stage of the procurement process for a major replacement vessel programme.

The shipyard will now compete with five other yards around the world in the hope securing the contract for seven new electric vessels to serve Scotland's island communities.

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.

The Port Glasgow yard was one of 13 initially shortlisted, and is one of six which will be issued with an Invitation to Tender (ITT).

The other yards still in the running are Cammell Laird on Merseyside, Cemri Marin Endustri A.S in Turkey, Asenav S.A in Chile, Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdansk, Poland, and the multinational Damen Offshore & Specialised Vessels.

The Cemri yard is currently building four new large ferries for CalMac, to serve routes across the Hebrides, while Remontowa built the two vessels currently serving on the Wemyss Bay to Rothesay route.

Estimated costs for  phase one of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme are around £175 million, which includes allowances for the seven vessels as well as port improvements and shore power upgrades.

Tender returns are expected by January 2025, with a view to awarding the contract two months later.

Jim Fairlie MSP, minister for agriculture and connectivity, 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, added: “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.”