16 August 2019
RMT Press Office
RMT on the Scottish Government’s decision on the Clyde’s Ferguson Marine shipyard
SCOTTISH ferries union RMT today commented on the Scottish Government’s decision to save the Ferguson Marine shipyard on the Clyde by taking it into public ownership.
General Secretary, Mick Cash said:
“This is encouraging news, including for RMT members delivering CalMac’s busy summer services on ageing ferries.
“ The Scottish Government must now act fast to fix the technical issues that have dogged this contract and set a delivery date for the Glen Sannox and its sister ship – communities and workers on the Ardrossan-Brodick and Uig Triangle routes deserve that basic respect.
“This episode also highlights Ministers failure to meet other deadlines in their Ferries Plan and this decision should result in an increase in work to bring all of Scotland’s public ferry fleet into the twenty-first century. To do this, the Scottish Government must commit to work with the trade unions to build a company that can design and build, on the Clyde, the zero emission ferries needed by CalMac, NorthLink, Orkney Ferries and internationally.
“No doubt there are challenges but this is a golden opportunity to safeguard our maritime future.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
- RMT is the largest trade union in the Scottish ferries industry, organizing nearly 900 seafarers and shore side staff. Our members work for public sector ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract with the Scottish Government; on Serco NorthLink’s Northern Isles Ferry Service (NIFS) public contract and on Orkney Ferries, owned by Orkney Islands Council.
- CalMac operate thirty-three vessels, comprised of small and large ferries. The average age of the fleet is 22 years.
- As Table 1 below demonstrates, in addition to the failure to deliver the two vessels from the contract with Ferguson Marine, the Scottish Government has missed a series of vessel replacement deadlines in its own Ferries Plan (published December 2012).
- Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd is trialing groundbreaking hydrogen-fueled ferries through the HySeas III project and has a seat on the UK Government’s Clean Maritime Council.
- The International Maritime Organisations’s Greenhouse Gas Strategy commits countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by at least 50% by 2050 (compared with 2008 emission levels). Targets for reducing emissions from shipping in 2025 and 2035 are pending.
Table 1: Routes where the vessel operated (all year round, unless stated) is above the average age (22 years) of the current CalMac fleet:
Vessel |
Route |
Built |
Replaced[1] |
MV Hebridean Isles (Large Ferry) |
Kennacraig - Islay |
1985 |
By 2016 (still in service) |
MV Isle of Cumbrae (Small Ferry) |
Tarbert – Portavadie (summer); winter relief vessel |
1976 |
By 2016 (still in service) |
MV Loch Riddon (Small Ferry) |
Largs - Cumbrae (summer) Relief (Winter - Tarbert, Portavadie and Lochranza) |
1986 |
By 2019 (still in service) |
MV Loch Linnhe (Small Ferry) |
Winter relief vessel for the Inner Hebrides; Tobermory - Kilchoan route in summer |
1986 |
By 2019 (still in service) |
MV Isle of Mull (Large Ferry) |
1988 |
By 2019 (still in service) |
|
MV Isle of Arran (Large Ferry) |
Ardrossan - Campbeltown (summer) Relief vessel (winter) |
1984 |
By 2019 (still in service) |
MV Loch Tarbet (Small Ferry) |
Tobermory - Kilchoan |
1992 |
By 2025 |
MV Loch Fyne (Small Ferry) |
Mallaig - Armadale |
1991 |
By 2025 |
MV Loch Dunvegan (Small ferry) |
Colintraive - Rhubodach (Bute) |
1991 |
By 2025 |
MV Loch Buie (Small Ferry) |
1992 |
By 2025 |
|
MV Lord of the Isles (Large ferry) |
Oban - Lochboisdale (winter) |
1989 |
By 2025 |
MV Caledonian Isles (Large Ferry) |
Ardrossan - Brodick |
1993 |
By 2025 |
MV Loch Striven (Small ferry) |
1986 |
No date |
|
MV Loch Ranza (Small Ferry) |
1987 |
No date |
|
MV Isle of Lewis (Large Ferry) |
1995 |
No date |
[1] According to Scottish Government’s Ferries Plan 2013-22 (Dec 2012) proposals, where stated.
Want to receive updates from us? Subscribe to a mailing list
Tagged with: Ferguson Marine shipyard
Latest News
- Trainline accused of ripping off customers and deliberately misleading them
- Elizabeth Line and Overground staff demand public ownership and reject profit-driven model
- RMT vows mass campaign to protect ticket offices in Scotland
- RMT suspends tube strikes after significantly improved offer
- Unipart Rail’s threats fail to intimidate workers