Scotland’s nationalised shipbuilder is doomed to fail once it completes two overdue and over-budget ferries, a former executive have said.
John Morgan, who was director of business development at Ferguson Marine until it was taken over by the Scottish government, said he had been asked to leave when the company was nationalised as his role became surplus to requirements.
Scottish ministers set up Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Holdings (FMPG) to take over Ferguson Marine Engineering (FMEL).
The last remaining shipyard on the lower Clyde, formerly owned by the Monaco-based businessman Jim McColl, fell into administration amid soaring costs and delays to two government-funded ferries.
The MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802 were due for completion in early 2018 but have not yet been delivered as costs doubled to more than £200 million.
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Morgan said the nationalised firm had no interest in business development or diversification beyond the “toxic” ferry contract with the Scottish government and would inevitably be wound up once they were completed.
Plans to build the first seagoing hydrogen-powered craft and a fishing boat factory have been ditched, he said.
Two previous companies running the Ferguson Marine shipyard have gone into insolvency in the past seven years.
Auditors for the business said it remained a “going concern” but said there were no guarantees it would continue to operate in the future.
Morgan told the Herald on Sunday: “It is a shambles. Looking ahead through the prevailing clouds, there is an allocation of £281 million for new ferries in the Transport Scotland Infrastructure Plan.
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“If the government fails to get to grips with this floundering situation, it will be almost inevitable that we will see those contracts for new Scottish ferries going out of Scotland in a yet further evaporation of opportunities and employment for our local communities.
“It is becoming clearer by the day that, unless they steer a new course, the shipyard [will be] lost again — first through a toxic contract in private ownership and second, and probably last, through a failed nationalisation.”
An FMPG spokesman said: “We will not be commenting on statements, or their veracity, by former FMEL contractors. The senior management team at the shipyard is focused on the future and their priorities are to deliver the dual fuel ferry programme, improve productivity, secure contracts for future vessels and protect local jobs.”
This report has been amended to take account of the following correction:
• We wrongly said that John Morgan “earned nearly £800,000 a year as director of business development at Ferguson Marine until it was taken over by the Scottish government”. The quoted figure is the sum paid to the “turnaround” director appointed by the Scottish government. We apologise for the mistake to Mr Morgan, whose salary as an executive never exceeded five figures.