Ferguson Marine (FMPG) has appointed an industry veteran technical director and chief financial officer as the bitter row surrounding two overdue ferries continues to reverberate around the Highlands and Islands.
The company says Eddie Purves has joined as technical director with 30 years experience in commercial and naval shipbuilding in Scotland, initially with Kvaerner Govan before the yard was taken over by BAE.
He spent the last year as managing director of A&P Tyne, which operates the largest commercial dry-dock on the east coast of England.
His previous roles include working with Type 26 vessels for the Royal Navy and shipyard upgrades with BAE.
Ferguson Marine noted Mr Purves will have a “key role” within its senior leadership team as it works to complete the two vessels being built for Caledonian Maritime Assets (CMAL), restructures during 2023/24, positions for additional projects on behalf of BAE Systems and others and targets the small vessel replacement programme for CMAL.
Current ferries cost is estimated at £277m
At the end of last year, FMPG chief executive David Tydeman said “management and build errors” meant the two overdue ferries at Ferguson Marine ended up costing an extra £90 million.
This included the decision through the yard’s previous management to build a “largely empty ship” on the slipway rather than assembling modules under cover.
The current cost of the two vessels in Port Glasgow, the Glen Sannox and the unnamed hull 802, is estimated to be £277 million, although this could rise further.
Mr Tydeman said contract issues also arose after the nationalised shipyard went into administration in 2019.
Separately, and initially on a one-year contract, Carla Roberts joins as chief financial officer, having recently served as financial director at Water Retail.
Ms Roberts joins FMPG with a background across businesses in various stages of turnaround and experience with local government.
Mr Tydeman said: “We have a busy year ahead with the planned handover of Glen Sannox in late spring and working to complete hull 802.
Glen Sannox expected to be finished by May this year
“These senior appointments bring new talent and a wealth of experience to FMPG and will enable us to expand on planning to build a sustainable future for the shipyard.”
Mr Tydeman previously said the Glen Sannox is still expected to be finished by the end of May 2023.
The ferries were originally designed to be dual fuel, running on diesel and LNG.
In a letter to Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee, Mr Tydeman said the sum of around £90 million “is a function of mistakes and other factors, for example, recovery from administration through the pandemic during the whole period since the contracts were placed in 2015”.
A high turnover of staff during the pandemic also caused problems, Mr Tydeman said.
Between 2014 and 2019, the shipyard was owned by Jim McColl’s Clyde Blowers Capital.
The shipyard is wholly owned by Scottish Ministers. It was taken into public ownership in December 2019.
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