A Turkish shipyard has been named as the popular bidder to construct two new ferries for Scotland’s island communities.
Caledonian Maritime Property Ltd (Cmal) has introduced it intends to award the contract to the Cemre Marin Endustri AS shipyard in Turkey. There shall be a 10-day standstill interval till the contract is signed and Cmal will affirm prices and supply dates following this.
The new vessels shall be deployed on the Uig, Tarbert and Lochmaddy routes and shall be constructed to the identical specification because the Islay ferries already below building on the Turkish shipyard. The present fleet has suffered disruption due to faults, leading to delays and cancelled providers.
It's thought the contract to construct the brand new fleet will pace up the substitute and supply a extra standardised vessel kind that can be utilized on quite a lot of routes.
Jim Anderson, Cmal’s director of vessels, mentioned: “This can be a massive step ahead is procuring two new vessels for the Little Minch routes to Lochmaddy and Tarbert. These ferries will ship devoted providers to North Uist and Harris within the peak season, quite than the shared vessel operation at present in place.
"We are going to now enter a 10-day standstill interval earlier than finalising the contract. We intend to share an up to date in early January after the festive interval with additional info, similar to forecasted supply dates.”
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth mentioned: “The Scottish Authorities is totally dedicated to bettering the lifeline ferry fleet and higher assembly the wants of island communities, so I’m happy to see Cmal title the popular bidder for the 2 extra ferries. I hope this progress shall be welcomed by island communities who rely on these life line ferry providers.
“Our intention is that these vessels shall be deployed on the Skye triangle routes to Lochmaddy and Tarbert, creating the chance to considerably enhance capability and resilience by delivering devoted providers to communities throughout peak season.”
Scottish Liberal Democrats financial system spokesman Willie Rennie mentioned: “It seems just like the contract for yet one more two ferries is off to Turkey which is a stark reminder of the mismanagement of the ferry building programme below the SNP. Over price range and over time – that's the hallmark of the SNP and it's the islanders, the taxpayers and the shipyard staff that really feel the ache.
“No surprise Scottish Authorities-owned Ferguson didn’t even bid for these two ferries. We want a restoration programme for Ferguson in order that it's able to profitable future contracts.”
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