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Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stalemate fears over Ardrossan harbour buyout plan
Campaigners fear a plan to bring Ardrossan harbour into public ownership to enable a major redevelopment has reached a stalemate. The North Ayrshire port faces an uncertain future because two new CalMac ferries ordered for the Arran route are too big to fit the existing facilities. Ministers announced earlier this year they hoped to buy the harbour from its owner Peel Ports so that the long-promised upgrade could finally progress. The Save Ardrossan Harbour campaign says it has now been told the talks have stalled and an early resolution looks unlikely. The Scottish government promised seven years ago that Ardrossan would remain the main gateway to Arran. Ministers pledged to help fund the multi-million pound upgrade required to accommodate the new CalMac ferries MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa. Government considers buying Ardrossan harbour Lifeline harbour plan in limbo, says ferries boss Since then costs have risen and the project has been left in limbo because of disagreements over how the bill should be split between the three partners; Peel Ports, North Ayrshire Council and the Scottish government. It has been estimated the redevelopment could now cost £80m. In February, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop revealed that money had been set aside to take the harbour into public ownership in an attempt to break the logjam. But an update meeting involving government-owned ferries and ports body CMAL - which is leading the negotiations - has left the campaigners frustrated. Christine Cowie, from Save Ardrossan Harbour, said previous assurances that things were "moving at pace" now appeared to be "totally wrong". "They seem to have reached a stalemate," she told BBC Scotland News. "There seems to be a gap between what the government is prepared to pay and what Peel Ports wants to accept." After the meeting, also attended by representatives from Transport Scotland and CalMac, the campaigners wrote a letter to Peel Ports managing director Lewis McIntyre criticising the "the ongoing delay in finalising the long-awaited deal". The letter says: "We understand from CMAL that an offer has now been made, and that they are currently awaiting a response from Peel Ports. "This delay is not just administrative - it is actively harming the interests of Ardrossan, the Isle of Arran, and North Ayrshire as a whole." Peel Ports responded by issuing a statement accusing public officials of failing to negotiate with sufficient urgency. A spokesperson said: "We've entered negotiations in good faith, working with pace and energy to a timetable we believed was achievable. "Unfortunately, that pace and energy hasn't been matched by those at the negotiating table. "We appreciate that the buyers have other ferry issues to contend with but reaching a swift conclusion will require them to give this negotiation a higher priority." Sources at Peel Ports said there had been no contact with CMAL for six weeks. Ardrossan has now been without a ferry service to Arran since January, when MV Glen Sannox entered service - sailing instead from Troon - and a smaller vessel which was capable of berthing at the harbour was redeployed. The campaigners say the town has suffered economically during this period, as many Arran residents often travel there for things like car repairs or dental appointments. Sailings are due to resume in a fortnight's time when the old Arran ferry MV Caledonian Isles returns after 17 months of repairs, but that might only provide short-term relief. Residents are worried that once the second of the ships, MV Glen Rosa, is delivered - currently expected next summer - it could lose its ferry connection once again. CMAL said it was limited in what it could say during commercial negotiations but insisted it was working hard to find a resolution. "CMAL are fully committed to maintaining a robust and resilient ferry service for the Isle of Arran, and no option is off the table," it said in a statement. "However, we must also ensure we deliver the best value for the public purse." Transport Scotland has been contacted for comment. Ms Howie said the Ardrossan campaigners left the meeting with a sense that the purchase of the harbour was far from guaranteed. "At no time did any of them say we are committed to Ardrossan harbour and we're doing our best," she said. "Quite honestly, we felt like we were just a nuisance being there." When the business case for replacements ferries was drawn up in 2014 it stated that "no port modification work will be required to accommodate these vessels initial deployment". But designs put forward by bidding shipyards to meet the ambitious specifications for the dual-fuel ships were heavier than either CMAL or CalMac expected. Computer simulations on the chosen design involving CalMac captains found it would be difficult to berth such large ships at Ardrossan harbour which requires an awkward "handbrake turn". Troon, about 15 miles further south, is capable of handling them but the crossing to Arran is longer, meaning only three daily sailings are scheduled instead of five. The harbour at Ardrossan also benefits from direct train connections while at Troon there is a 15-minute walk from the port to the station. The uncertainty over which port the new liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships will sail from has also left plans to install fast refuelling stations on hold. CMAL awarded a £4.5m contract to build the facilities to a Danish firm in 2020. The dual-fuel ships instead are currently refuelled with LNG directly from road tankers, a process that takes three times longer than filling up with diesel. Ardrossan Harbour campaigners hold protest on ferry route Government considers buying Ardrossan harbour Lifeline harbour plan in limbo, says ferries boss Were Scotland's new gas-powered ferries a bad choice?
The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
I do not share Kenny MacAskill's optimism about Ferguson yard
The shipyard in question is of course Fergusons of Port Glasgow, which is currently trying to complete the ferry Glen Rosa. Kenny suggests that yet another change of management is the solution to the long-term problems of the yard and the return of Jim McColl is perhaps called for. I do not know if Mr McColl has been consulted on this matter but it would be a brave (some might say foolish) move if he were to accept this considerable challenge. READ MORE: Ardrossan Harbour deal 'far from complete', campaigners claim My late father and two uncles worked in another Clyde shipyard, now long gone, in the 1960s and I feel some sympathy for the Port Glasgow workforce – but none for CalMac, CMAL, the various well-rewarded management teams who have come and gone and the politicians who have presided over this national embarrassment. Kenny is to be praised for his optimistic hope that the yard will find other work in the future but it is all too easy for future clients to take into account the events of the past few years. If Kenny's next-door neighbour commissioned a builder to build an extension to his home on the basis of a cost of, for example, £50,000 and a timescale of a year, would he commission the same builder to build a similar extension to his own home if the neighbour's costs had risen to £250,000 and the extension was still not complete after nearly nine years? Work began on the Glen Rosa in June 2016. It is a real shame that Scotland's local authorities, health boards and housing associations do not have the same free and unlimited access to the Scottish Government's bank accounts that is enjoyed by Fergusons. The almost £500,000,000 splashed out (pun very much intended) on two medium-sized ferries could have had a major impact on our NHS waiting lists, relieving the long-term pain and suffering of thousands of our fellow citizens. Perhaps some of the money could have been used to provide decent social housing for some of the 33,916 households and 10,360 children currently homeless in our land. READ MORE: ScotRail must stop using my voice for AI announcements, voiceover artist demands Much, I assume, to the discomfort and embarrassment of our government, it now appears that the Glen Rosa will not carry a single passenger before the May 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. Assorted Unionist politicians will make the most of this situation – and who can blame them. The cost to complete the Glen Rosa is now apparently, at the very least, another £35,000,000 with no real guarantee that this will be enough to complete all the work required. In late November 2022, Audit Scotland announced that it was unable to account for £128.25 million in public money spent by Fergusons on the ferries. Furthermore, it was unable to trace how a £30m Scottish Government loan to Ferguson was spent. For a comparison, the RMS Titanic's construction cost was £1,500,000, which is around £180,000,000 in today's money. It only took around three years to build. It weighed in at around 50,000 tonnes. The Glen Rosa weighs only around 3000 tonnes – about 16 times smaller. These and many other factors will be taken into account when we come to place our marks on the two Scottish Parliament ballot papers in under a year's time. Taken together with the SNP's absence of a clear path to independence, the outcome is far from certain. Sandra West Dundee
The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
Ardrossan Harbour deal 'far from complete', campaigners claim
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced earlier this year that she had asked officials to look at the potential purchase of the harbour in North Ayrshire. For almost 200 years, ferries have left from the harbour for Arran, but for the majority of this year there have been no services from Ardrossan because the Glen Sannox – and its sister ship Glen Rosa that is yet to enter service – are too big to berth there. The Glen Sannox has been travelling to Arran from Troon alongside the MV Alfred, while the Caledonian Isles – which is due to return to Ardrossan next month – has been out of action since January 2024. The Ardrossan Harbour Task Force met for the first time in a year in April after which the Scottish Government said it remained committed to trying to purchase the site. READ MORE: Robin McAlpine: Why I'm angry about the approval of the Loch Lomond Flamingo Land plan However, since then, campaigners from Arran for Ardrossan Harbour have met with CMAL, Transport Scotland, CalMac and Peel Ports – which currently owns the site. Wyllie Hume, chair of the group, claimed they were told at the meeting by Kevin Hobbs, CEO of government-owned ferries and harbours body CMAL, that the public ownership deal is "far from complete". He also claimed CMAL said Peel Ports was asking for 'an exorbitant amount' for the dilapidated harbour that it could not afford. Hume added: 'Throughout the entire meeting, he and the Transport [Scotland] representative treated us as an irritant and gave the impression that they were meeting us under sufferance. 'A no point in the discussions did Mr Hobbs say he was committed to saving Ardrossan Harbour or that he is strongly committed to pursuing the buyout.' (Image: Arran for Ardrossan Harbour) Hume said the group now plans to campaign 'more aggressively' against Peel Ports, including organising a protest outside the company's offices in Glasgow. Peel Ports said it has been working with 'pace and energy' on negotiations, but claimed this has not been matched by other parties at the table. Transport Scotland said a timeline 'can only be reasonably established and published should actual purchase and transfer of control of the port be successful'. Bosses explained that neither CMAL or the Scottish Government could force the sale of a port or use compulsory purchase powers under existing harbours legislation. READ MORE: Highlands and Islands residents split over £100bn investment plan CMAL told The National it remains 'fully committed' to maintaining a 'robust and resilient' ferry service but must ensure 'we deliver the best value for the public purse'. The task force involves Transport Scotland, North Ayrshire Council, Peel Ports, CalMac, CMAL, the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee and the area's MSP Kenneth Gibson. The Ardrossan port requires a costly berth realignment in order to accommodate the new Glen Sannox – which entered service to Arran in January – and the Glen Rosa – which is now not due to be delivered until 2026. The Ardrossan Harbour Project – to develop the port and make it suitable for the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa – was given the go-ahead way back in 2018 by then transport minister Humza Yousaf, but the project was paused in 2023 and a fresh business case has never emerged. With ferries only going in and out of Troon for the past few months, residents in Arran have been struggling to get to medical appointments at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, which is easily reachable by bus from Ardrossan but much more challenging to get to from Troon. There are also fears Ardrossan could suffer a similar fate to Stranraer, which in 2011 lost the ferry to Northern Ireland after more than 150 years. The local economy quickly took a significant downturn after Stena Line moved up the coast to Cairnryan. A spokesperson from CMAL said: 'We met with Save Ardrossan Harbour, Arran for Ardrossan Harbour, CalMac and Transport Scotland at the CMAL offices last week to discuss the current situation. While we recognise this is an emotive issue for the Arran and Ardrossan communities, we are in the middle of a commercial negotiation process, which limits the amount of information that can be shared. 'We are fully committed to maintaining a robust and resilient ferry service for the Isle of Arran, and no option is off the table. However, we must also ensure we deliver the best value for the public purse.' Transport Scotland said it will update Parliament and the community once there is progress to report. A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'We absolutely understand people and communities' views in favour of retaining Ardrossan as the mainland port and their frustration that there is not yet more progress to report. 'The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring the Arran ferry service is fit for the future and we want to see progress just as much as local campaigners do. However, as was explained to them when they met recently with CMAL, Transport Scotland and CalMac, a timeline can only be reasonably established and published should actual purchase and transfer of control of the port be successful. 'CMAL and Peel Ports need time and space to undertake and conclude negotiations.' A Peel Ports spokesperson said: 'We've entered negotiations in good faith, working with pace and energy to a timetable we believed was achievable. Unfortunately, that pace and energy hasn't been matched by those at the negotiating table. 'We appreciate that the buyers have other ferry issues to contend with but reaching a swift conclusion will require them to give this negotiation a higher priority.'
The National
4 days ago
- Business
- The National
It's time for McColl to be given another crack at Ferguson Marine
For storm clouds are yet again gathering over the last shipyard on the Lower Clyde. Yet, it just shouldn't be so. It is only just over a decade since all seemed secured when Jim McColl took over the yard. Rightly, that was universally welcomed, and the future looked bright. After all, Scotland is a nation with numerous islands and archipelagos requiring ships and ferries, not for a cruise but for literally lifeline services – upon which communities depend for their very existence. Meanwhile, the Clyde was synonymous with shipbuilding on its upper and lower banks. READ MORE: Man charged following crossbow incident at Glasgow hospital Clydebank was formed from the expansion of yards on the Upper Clyde. On the Lower Clyde, not just Fergusons but Scott Lithgow further down the river in Greenock were the bedrock of the towns. Fergusons shutting down would be devastating in an area already challenged by unemployment and deprivation. Building the ships our communities need in yards with a heritage and skill base was frankly a no-brainer. McColl intended to not just secure the yard but expand into other sites on the river as work increased. The age of the CalMac fleet, with repeated breakdowns, means there will be new orders year after year for decades to come. Then those being built will need replaced and on it should go. The construction and servicing of offshore wind requires ships and boats. Are we really going to see them built abroad as is shamefully happening with the bulk of the turbines being installed? Is this to be yet another aspect of an unjust transition? We need ferries and boats, we need the industrial and skills base, and we need the work from our renewables. But there has been a catalogue of failures and McColl was supplanted at Fergusons by the Scottish Government. The situation has worsened and the future looks grim. The yard has struggled with the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa and the order book beyond the latter is empty. There needs to be an inquiry into what has gone wrong. Millions have been wasted, the delays are inexplicable and the budget overrun criminal. But none of that is the fault of those who work on the ferries or indeed in the yard. Instead, it's down to catastrophic failures by those in charge and it's costing us all a fortune given the level of state financial support required. The wrong organisation was put in charge of procurement, the wrong ferries were acquired, and the wrong people are now trying to sort things. Ferries owner CMAL should be abolished –it's a quango too far and its actions have been catastrophic. Let CalMac decide what ships it wants. The dual fuel LNG/marine diesel model was absurd and lies at the heart of the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa failures. What the future holds for those ships, who knows, but other vessels needed for our country will not be using that frankly ludicrous design. The contract was also signed off on the direct instructions of the Scottish Government without the full terms being agreed. Hence the costs increased as problems and aspects not factored in arose. Now a Fergusons board which I would say lacks knowledge and experience is presiding over a revolving door of CEOs, all paid off at huge expense, while the ratio of suits in the offices to workers in overalls is ridiculously out of kilter. So, what needs to be done? Lease in vessels from wherever to address the immediate needs for vulnerable communities. But at the same time ensure that future orders for the CalMac fleet go to Fergusons, not to Turkey or the Mersey as with recent ones. Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has rightly announced a direct award to CalMac for operating the service and it should do likewise with Fergusons for building them. That would provide the vessels for the communities which need them and the work for the yard that equally requires it. But there also needs to be a change in management at the yard. There's been something wrong there and it's not with the skills of the workers. Maybe it's time to go back to the future. Lease or sell the yard to McColl again and let him have another go at joining the dots between what Scottish island communities need and the work Scottish shipbuilding towns require. It's not rocket science but part of keeping an industrial base in our country, especially when skilled work is being lost in the North Sea and at Grangemouth. McColl has a track record of success in his business ventures – the failings at Ferguson Marine fundamentally rest with others – and, most importantly, he has a vision of what we need for our country and communities. What was right before remains so today. We need ferries, we need shipbuilding, and we need an industrial base not just to be a theme park or cruise liner destination. Sort out the management but save the yard.
The Herald Scotland
17-05-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish Government ferries decision is a disaster for our islands
This is a cowardly disgrace and a disaster for our island communities. This is not the fault of those who work at CalMac, it is the fault of the owner of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited ("CMAL") which owns most of the vessels and the owner of CalMac which operates them. In both cases the owner is the Scottish Government. 100 per cent. For many years. There are no excuses. The CalMac fleet essentially divides into two. First, a number of small vessels which ply the shorter more sheltered routes like Largs to Cumbrae or Portavadie to Tarbert. They shuttle back and forth sometimes singly and sometimes in pairs. They are getting a bit long in the tooth so they do break down rather too often but in general they are fit for purpose. They have a small crew who do not live aboard. They all run on fossil fuels. Read more Guy Stenhouse The Scottish Government has recently ordered replacements for some of these vessels from a Polish yard. As part of the Scottish Government's dedication to virtue signalling these new vessels will be electric. This will require infrastructure investments at every port to enable large amounts of electricity to be rapidly fed into each ship's batteries. Can anybody see the potential for a huge screw up in a few years time? What can possibly go wrong? The real problem is with the larger vessels which go to such places as Arran and Lewis and Harris. The new vessels which are coming into service are very large. The Glen Sannox, which is intended to ply mainly the Ayrshire to Arran route, which takes around an hour, is about 7,000 tons. To put that into context, a World War Two Atlantic Convoy Corvette escort ship weighed about 1,000 tons. A ferry needs to be bigger because it has to carry passengers and vehicles but the comparison shows that vessels as big as the Glen Sannox are not needed for weather related reasons when going to Arran. In fact when coming into port a large monohull ship like the Glen Sannox is more difficult to berth than a smaller multihull vessel which does not catch the wind so much. CalMac's big ships have crew which live onboard so part of the reason they are so big is that they have several decks of crew accommodation. In the case of Glen Sannox the crew is around 38. The large size of the Glen Sannox and the Scottish Government's utter failure, despite having years to get it right, to ensure the changes necessary are made to the port at Ardrossan to accommodate it, means it currently has to run from Troon which is a longer route and less convenient for users. This is not progress. What the Arran route needs is smaller ships with smaller crews running more frequently from Ardrossan. Read more If you want to read accounts with unrivalled levels of guff gathered together in their pages might I suggest those of CMAL or CalMac. The latest versions currently available are for the year to March 2024, a period before Glen Sannox, its sister ship or any of the other new larger ships from Turkey have arrived. The accounts are rather interesting. You learn that a pension scheme which is explicitly described as "generous" is offered to employees. The employer currently pays 31 per cent of salaries a year into it. How nice. You learn there are now 100 trained mental first aiders amongst the employees. You learn that around 1,000 of CalMac's "Sea Going" employees are supplied through a Gurnsey based company. The simple but unstated reasons for the latter is tax avoidance. If you look through the accounting cleverness it is clear that the vast majority, about £200 million, of CalMac's annual income comes from Government subsidy. This is a lot of money and will go up as the new ferries come into service. CalMac's accounts say that the Company has a purpose "To navigate the waters, ensuring life thrives, wherever we are". I wonder what focus group thought that one up. How about replacing it with "To provide rapid, reliable and regular ferry services which meet our customers' needs in a cost-effective manner". Our ferry services are costly, inefficient and ineffective. CalMac's monopoly, far from being extended, should have been ended. Each route should be put out to tender separately with the communities being served having a decisive say in what service is provided by what company as well as driving down costs. Yet again the Scottish Government has funked a difficult decision. Who pays the ferryman? We all do. It is time for change. Guy Stenhouse is a notable figure in the Scottish financial sector. He has held various positions, including being the Managing Director of Noble Grossart, an independent merchant bank based in Edinburgh, until 2017
