The Committee maintained a watching brief throughout the session on progress in completing two ferries being built by Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG). Its scrutiny focused on tracking escalating costs and the knock-on impacts on ferry services. FMPG is a Scottish Government-owned shipyard in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde.
By the end of Session 6, the shipyard was focused on completing the MV Glen Rosa, the second of two dual-fuel ferries for Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL). The first vessel, MV Glen Sannox, was delivered in November 2024.
The Committee received quarterly updates from FMPG on progress towards completion of Glen Sannox (Hull 801) and Glen Rosa (Hull 802). This fulfilled a commitment made in 2021 to the Session 5 Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee.
This page contains links to these updates, associated correspondence to and from the Committee, as well as the Committee’s scrutiny of progress of construction of the vessels in meetings or visits.
As part of a previous inquiry Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited undertook to provide updates on construction of the four new ferries built in Turkey to serve Islay and the Little Minch. These can be found under the correspondence section of the page for that inquiry and on this page.
Other relevant correspondence about work on maintaining Scotland’s fleet of public ferries is also contained here.
The Committee also monitored developments relating to the Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP), a 10-year CMAL programme to replace up to ten ageing vessels used on Clyde and Hebrides routes. The first stage involved seven electrically powered vessels, with an estimated total project cost of £175 million.
On 3 March 2026, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport announced that Ministers proposed to include two new vessels for the Sound of Harris and the Sound of Barra in the next phase of the programme as a direct award to Ferguson Marine, subject to due diligence and other required steps before any formal contract award decision could be made.
On the same day, the Deputy First Minister announced that Ministers also proposed to award contracts to Ferguson Marine for two further vessels: replacements for the marine research vessel Scotia and the marine protection vessel Minna.
Other committees also examined ferry-related issues during the session. The Public Audit Committee scrutinised Audit Scotland’s work on ferry procurement and FMPG governance, while the Economy and Fair Work Committee considered the yard’s long-term future.
The Committee also undertook an inquiry into a Modern and Sustainable Ferry Service for Scotland from March 2022 to November 2023. This did not cover the construction of Hulls 801 and 802 but focused on the wider needs of Scotland’s ferry service.
Read more about the Modern and Sustainable Ferry Service for Scotland inquiry
The inquiry was discussed at the following Committee meetings:
The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during the inquiry:
Letter from Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 11 February 2026
Letter from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG), 30 January 2026
Letter from Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 20 January 2026
Letter from Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 16 January 2026
Letter from Duncan Anderson, interim Chair at FMPG, 15 January 2026
Letter from CMAL, 19 December 2025
Letter from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG), 18 December 2025
Letter to Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 17 December 2025
Letter to FMPG, 17 December 2025
Letter from CMAL, 28 November 2025
Letter from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, 13 October 2025
Letter from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 10 October 2025
Letter from Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, 30 September 2025
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, 30 September 2025
Letter from FMPG, 15 September 2025
Letter from CMAL, 1 September 2025
Correspondence from Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd to NZET Convener, 30 June 2025
Letter from FMPG, 27 June 2025
Letter from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG), 13 May 2025
Letter from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 13 May 2025
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport to the NZET Convener in relation to the next Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract, 8 May 2025
Letter from Euan Haig, 2 April 2025
Letter to Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG), 30 April 2025
Letter from FMPG, 16 April 2025
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Transport, 15 April 2025
Letter to Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow), 2 April 2025
Letter from CMAL, 31 March 2025
Letter from FMPG, 31 March 2025
Letter from CMAL, 28 February 2025
Letter from FMPG, 29 January 2025
Letter from CMAL, 29 January 2025
Letter to Andrew Miller, Chair, Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, 17 January 2025
Letter from Andrew Miller, Chair, Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, 10 January 2025
Letter to John Petticrew, Interim CEO, FMPG, 20 December 2024
Letter from FMPG, 19 December 2024
Letter from Gregor Irwin, Director-General Economy, 19 December 2024
Letter from CMAL to the NZET Convener, 18 December 2024
Letter from Convener to Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, 5 December 2024
Correspondence from Euan Haig, 1 December 2024
Letter from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, 19 November 2024
Letter and amended submission from CMAL, 5 November 2024
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Transport, 14 October 2024
Letter from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, 11 October 2024
Letter from Ferguson Marine, 3 October 2024
Letter from Ferguson Marine to the NZET Convener, 27 September 2024
Letter from Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 27 September 2024
Letter from Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 13 September 2024
Letter from Ferguson Marine, 12 September 2024
Letter from CMAL, 8 August 2024
Letter from Ferguson Marine, 2 August 2024
Letter from Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 2 August 2024
Letter from Ferguson Marine to the NZET Convener, 28 June 2024
Letter from CMAL to the NZET Convener, 28 June 2024
Letter from Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 28 June 2024
Letter from Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, 31 May 2024
Letter from John Petticrew, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd, 31 May 2024
Letter to Angus Campbell, Chair, Ferries Communities Board, 16 May 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, 19 April 2024
Letter from John Petticrew, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd, 19 April 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, 8 April 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, 3 April 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, 31 March 2024
Letter from John Petticrew, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd, 28 March 2024
Letter from Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 28 March 2024
Letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, 13 March 2024
Letter to the Convener, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 13 March 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, 29 February 2024
Letter from the Minister for Transport, 8 February 2024
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine, 28 February 2024
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine, 26 February 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, 26 February 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, 20 February 2024
Letter from Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 14 February 2024
Letter from Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 12 February 2024
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine, 2 February 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 2 February 2024
Letter to Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 10 January 2024
Letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 10 January 2024
Letter from Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 28 December 2023
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine, 21 December 2023
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 21 December 2023
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd, 15 December 2023
Letter from Virginia McVea, Chief Executive, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 28 November 2023
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd, 21 November 2023
Letter to Virginia McVea, Chief Executive, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 16 November 2023
Letter to David Tydeman, Chief Executive, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd, 16 November 2023
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine, 14 November 2023
Submission from Robert Trythall, 2 November 2023
Letter from Virginia McVea, Chief Executive, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 23 October 2023
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 6 October 2023
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine, 29 September 2023
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 29 September 2023
Letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 20 September 2023
Letter to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 20 September 2023
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 23 August 2023
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine, 22 August 2023
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 30 June 2023
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine, 30 June 2023
Letter from the Convener, Public Audit Committee, 26 June 2023
Letter from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine to the Convener. 16 March 2023