Inquiry demand over 'scandal' of 100s of jobs lost in ferry fiasco
A rejected proposal to create a Clyde shipbuilding revolution, save state-controlled Scots shipyard firm Ferguson Marine and help solve the nation's ferry crisis fronted by a Scots entrepreneur involves the creation of a fleet of 50 catamarans as part of an £800 million scheme - a fraction of the cost of those currently being built. The proposal works out at £16m per catamaran while the cost of the Scottish Government's 13 is at around £70m to date.
Anger has erupted as an analysis of warnings by the state-owned ferry operator CalMac over potential and actual disruptions to passengers using two ferries on one of Scotland's busiest lifeline routes through technical faults and the ability to operate in adverse weather surrounded one of the two massively over-budget and wildly delayed ferry fiasco vessels - MV Glen Sannox.
Users have told The Herald how of the two ferries operating from Troon to Arran it is the second emergency catamaran, MV Alfred - chartered for nearly two years from Pentland Ferries - that has become the 'reliable workhorse' despite being six years older than Glen Sannox which finally started taking passengers in January.
Stuart Ballantyne with one of his catamaran designsAt the start of the month, the catamaran was chartered for a further five months to help cope with the continuing island ferry crisis at a public cost of £22m - that's £8m more than it cost to buy.
It is believed that Alfred was modelled on designs by Stuart Ballantyne, a Scottish naval architect and chairman of Australian marine consulting firm Sea Transport Solutions who it has emerged began proposing the catamaran plan to the Scottish Government in 2008.
That's seven years before state-owned ferry owner and procurer Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) signed off on the disastrous £97m ferry contract to build two ferries at the Inverclyde shipyard firm Ferguson Marine owned then by the Scots tycoon and entrepreneur Jim McColl after it got ministerial approval.
The Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa ferries were due to start taking passengers in the first half of 2018 with both eventually to serve Arran but have run seven years or more late with costs expected rise more than five fold the original £97m contract.
In the midst of the delays and soaring costs, Ferguson Marine under the control of Mr McColl fell into administration and was nationalised at the end of 2019 with CMAL and the yard's management blaming each other.
CMAL has since stuck with single hull ferries in designs for a new fleet of 11 vessels, with nearly £400m of contracts going abroad. It has denied it has been anti-catamaran.
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Now a group of experts has joined with Mr Ballantyne and local campaigners to raise concerns about the procurement of ferries in Scotland and said there should be a public inquiry into what is considered to be a "scandal".
Among the group is Professor Alf Baird, a former director of the Maritime Research Group at Napier University who has been non-plussed by Scotland's failure to grasp the nettle of the catamaran project and shipping expert and consultant Roy Pedersen, who were both part of a high powered Scottish Government-formed advisory group over the ongoing ferry fiasco which was wound up in 2022 having not met since October, 2019. Some believe it is because ministers did not like the sound of dissenting voices.
Alf Baird (Image: NQ) In a 2023 dossier from one ferry user group titled "CMAL's history of obstructing medium-speed catamaran" it detailed how Dr Baird had further presented the catamaran opportunity to the expert group in 2017 but there was resistance.
Ten years ago leading academic Prof Neil Kay resigned from the advisory body months after it was created and accused the organisation of sidelining the interests of passengers.
Now the group that also includes activists for the Campaign to Save Inchgreen Dry Dock which is fighting to save Scottish shipbuilding said the inquiry is needed in the wake of resistance to the catamaran project and the abolition of the expert advisory group.
"Dismissing ferry advisers recruited specifically for their expert knowledge of the Scottish ferry services was seen by many as a deliberate ploy on the part of Transport Scotland to avoid scrutiny of CMAL's management and procurement failures," they said.
This led to "over-specified" and overpriced major vessels and an "apparent inherent bias against a proven, more efficient and reliable catamaran option that would have greatly reduced capital and operating costs".
They said: " If catamarans are not suited to our island routes as has been claimed, how can the Alfred be operating so successful..."
A response from Transport Scotland's ferries infrastructure and finance division when asked about the catamaran project said that "any design solutions and procurement of new vessels by CMAL would be a decision for that authority and would need to be undertaken in line with applicable legislation and process."
It said: "CMAL...considers all proposals which may benefit Scotland's ferry network. This includes all appropriate vessel designs which can enhance or improve connections across Scotland's lifeline ferry network."
The group said that this had "waved away any responsibility for the runaway costs, waste, abysmal performance and general havoc created by CMAL's design and procurement decisions".
They went on: "This is surely a dereliction on the part of Transport Scotland of the duty to safeguard the public purse and the well being of the communities involved, otherwise what are they being paid for?
"Dr Stuart Ballantyne's catamaran designs and plans were to build the new Scottish ferry fleet at Ferguson Marine - securing hundreds of jobs - Inchgreen and Govan dry docks.
The 20-year plan that was given to current deputy first minister Kate Forbes in June 2022 could provide hundreds of skilled jobs and economic benefits for our Clyde communities and Scotland.
The group said: "Instead, recent orders and taxpayers' money have gone to foreign shipyards for more over-specified vessels when cheaper to purchase and operate, home built catamaran designs are on the table. "
They said responses to them "laid bare the total mismanagement of Scottish ferry services that continues to be a burden on the Scottish taxpayer.
"It seems clear that CMAL is not fit for purpose and that the Scottish Government is not facing up to this long standing problem. There needs to be an independent public inquiry to get to the truth. Our island communities deserve much better.
"It is time to make Clyde shipbuilding great again."
It was envisaged that the major catamaran project would be based at nationalised Ferguson Marine, Inchgreen dry dock in Inverclyde and Govan dry dock.
The Govan dry dock dates back to the 19th century, and has been out of action for more than 40 years but there are hopes that it can be brought back into use. Govan Drydock has said it wants to return the A listed dry dock to a fully operational ship repair and maintenance facility.
The consortium headed by Mr Ballantyne said the plan will require a skilled workforce of around 1200 with hundreds more required in the supply chain.
They say that the annual operating cost of catamarans is around half that of current CMAL monohull vessels. And they say that means that operating subsidies will be expected to be slashed as more catamarans begin to enter service.
Mr Ballantyne, who over a decade ago received an honorary degree from Strathclyde University for services to the global maritime industry, says he believes that Scotland has the skills and infrastructure to establish a commercial shipyard which could be used to produce ferries not just for Scotland but for the export market.
He said: "It is logical for a Scottish ferry company to logically support a Scottish shipbuilder for all the obvious reasons of local and national prosperity, skills training of youth, tackling youth crime and drug use.
"I would suggest it is prudent to carry out a close investigation of CMAL decision makers...
"The Scottish taxpayer is paying well above the odds over what can be produced locally."
Four years ago the Scottish Government-owned owner of the ferry fleet demanded a foreign firm pay up to £100,000 to gain UK maritime approval before purchasing a ferry for just £9m - and the insistence led to the deal collapsing. That is £2m less than the current cost so far of repairs to 32-year-old MV Caledonian Isles which is out of action indefinitely after being sidelined for 17 months.
Pentland Ferries' emergency ferry for CalMac MV Alfred has been a reliable feature on the Arran ferry run (Image: Newsquest) Discussions about acquiring the Indonesia-built vessel, which was proposed by the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee came before what was described at the time as a 'summer of chaos' across Scotland's ageing ferry network.
It was claimed that CMAL made an "incredible" move to have the overseas owners fork out for the official approvals for any modifications to make it suitable for Scottish waters, which were estimated to have cost no more than £100,000.
Committee chairman Joe Reade said: "I would agree that CMAL and CalMac are averse to anything novel. All their vessels - even the newest ones are in many respects just modern interpretations of a very old design type, with ancient operating practices embedded into them. So we don't have lock-on linkspans, as have been used elsewhere for generations (thus removing the need for rope-handling, and crew to do it).
"It only adds to the cost of the ship, the size of the superstructure and the number of crew.
"More efficient crewing is not just a feature of catamarans - it's a feature of any inshore ferry that has been designed to commercial incentives. Neither CalMac nor CMAL have any incentive to build or operate efficiently. It does not matter if they operate efficiently or productively, because whatever the cost, we the taxpayer pick it up.
"The simple reason why Pentland Ferries chose a catamaran design was because as a commercial enterprise, they have to compete to survive. They are incentivised to make cost-effective buying and operating decisions. CalMac and CMAL have no such incentives, and so our hugely expensive, profligate and shamingly wasteful ferry system continues.
"The more expensive ferries are to buy, and the more costly it is to operate, the more pressure there will be to increase fares, and the more difficult it will be to maintain or improve services. The ferry system is in danger of becoming unaffordable if costs continue to spiral.
"This matters to us not just as taxpayers, but as islanders too."
A spokesperson for CMAL said: "CMAL is not anti-catamaran; but what often goes unreported is that in geographies similar to Scotland, with comparable weather and sea conditions, medium speed (below 20 knots) catamarans are not a common choice for passenger / commercial ferry services.
"An important factor in vessel choice is compatibility with specific routes, as well as flexibility to meet vessel redeployment needs across the network. We will only ever order the vessels best suited to the routes and communities they are intended to serve.'
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: "Assessment of new vessel options for routes across our networks is led by CMAL, Transport Scotland and the relevant operator.
"As part of the design process CMAL appoint naval architects and technical consultants to consider and advise on vessel designs and route specific issues. Various hull forms (including catamaran designs), propulsion options, fuel types, and onboard arrangements are considered and assessed as part of the design process. Engagement with communities, businesses and representative groups is essential, and it is maintained throughout the process.'
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