Ferguson Marine

Responding to news this afternoon (Tuesday 14 September) confirming that Port Glasgow shipbuilder Ferguson Marine will miss out on an order to build two new ferries for CalMac’s Islay route, GMB Scotland Organiser Gary Cook said:

“The manufacture of the ships Scotland needs will now be exported to the rest of the world – our commercial shipbuilding sector is mirroring the failure of our offshore wind sector.

“Ferries paid for by the public purse will be manufactured in Eastern Europe or Turkey, that’s jobs and value that should be coming to Inverclyde going abroad.

“This is the price communities pay for political failure, in over two decades of devolution Scotland still does not have an industrial plan that properly invests in jobs and infrastructure.

“You don’t need to look hard to learn the lessons of this latest bad news story or to understand why Scotland keeps losing the manufacturing contracts we desperately need.”

ENDS

Contact: GMB Scotland Organiser Gary Cook on 07712 677594 or GMB Scotland Communications on 07976 447077.

Notes to Editors:

“Nationalised shipyard misses out on ferries order”, BBC Scotland News Online, Tuesday 14 September 2021, access at: << Nationalised shipyard misses out on ferries order - BBC News>>