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Ferguson signs navy deal to build warship sections

David Henderson
BBC Scotland transport correspondent
Getty Images CalMac's Glen Rosa ferry is berthed alongside the Ferguson yard on the River ClydeGetty Images
MSPs had warned the Ferguson yard on the Clyde needed urgent investment to allow it to survive

The Ferguson Marine shipyard has signed a contract to build three sections of a Royal Navy warship which is currently under construction on the River Clyde.

The shipyard is owned by the Scottish government, and last week a committee of MSPs warned it needed urgent investment to allow it to survive.

The value of the new contract is unclear - as is the time it will take to complete.

The Port Glasgow yard only had one contract remaining on its books - to finish off the long-delayed CalMac ferry, MV Glen Rosa.

With that vessel due to sail next summer, concerns were growing about what work the yard and its 300-strong workforce would do next.

Now it has confirmed the signing of a new contract with the defence giant BAE Systems.

Ferguson will fabricate three sections of HMS Birmingham - one of the Royal Navy's Type 26 frigates - at Port Glasgow.

These sections will then be taken to BAE's Govan yard in Glasgow, where the warship is being assembled.

The Port Glasgow yard recently missed out on a government-funded order for seven small CalMac ferries, seen as well-suited to its capabilities.

Last week, members of Holyrood's public audit committee said leadership and governance failings along with the delays and cost overruns building two CalMac ferries had caused "reputational damage", despite the yard's long and proud history.

The MSPs said there was no shortage of potential work, and recovery was possible but it would require investment and better oversight.

Getty Images A large ferry moored at a quayside. Caledonian MacBrayne is written on the side with the name Glen Rosa at the front. The ship is black and white with red funnelsGetty Images
The yard only had the contract to complete the MV Glen Rosa before the latest announcement

The Scottish government said it was set to invest up to £14.2m in the yard over the next two years.

Scottish government budgets and accounts suggest that over £500m of public money has so far been spent on the yard since it was nationalised in 2019.

The government takeover came after contracts for the two dual-fuel ships, Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, ran into difficulties and ferries procurement body CMAL rejected claims for extra costs.

Delays and design challenges continued under public ownership with the cost of the two ships now about £460m if written-off government loans and money paid out prior to nationalisation are included. The original contract price was £97m.

Glen Sannox was finally delivered to CMAL last November, nearly seven years late. The second ship is due by the end of June 2026.