Ministers have turned down a request for extra funding to help modernise the nationalised Ferguson shipyard. The yard's boss David Tydeman had asked for £25m of investment in a new plating line and software to raise productivity and help it compete for future work. But Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray told MSPs he wanted the shipyard to "refine" its business plan before agreeing extra funding.
The financial watchdog said the shipyard had no contracted work beyond the CalMac ferries Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, and that the government had only committed to a further 12 months of funding. Since becoming chief executive of Ferguson Marine in February last year, Mr Tydeman has been focused on completing the overbudget and delayed ferries, but he has also tried to map out a longer-term future for the Port Glasgow shipyard. Those plans involved subcontracting work from BAE Systems on the Royal Navy's Type 26 frigates, and winning an order to build a replacement fleet of small vessels for CalMac