Jobs boost for shipyards as Ferguson wins £3.2m supply vessel conversion contract

 

© The Herald Originally published: 10/2/2010

Ferguson Shipbuilders, the Clyde’s last independent commercial shipyard, has won a £3.2 million contract from its namesake Ferguson Group in Aberdeen which will create employment in both companies.

The yard, which has survived by diversifying into other markets and still employs 120 to 130 at Port Glasgow, has restyled itself “Ferguson” to emphasise its wide range of engineering expertise.

It has won the contract from the unrelated Aberdeen-based Ferguson Group, a major supplier of offshore accommodation to the energy industry, to convert an Asian-built barge into a flexible support vessel.

Managing director Steven Ferguson said: “We selected Ferguson Shipbuilders because of its reputation for quality and its recent track record on a similar project. We are pleased to keep the contract within Scotland.”

Richard Deane, managing director of Ferguson Shipbuilders, said some new jobs would be created for the contract, which is due to be completed in June. “The award of the contract is a welcome boost for the yard and the community of Inverclyde, which will benefit almost immediately with the creation of new employment.”

The shipyard’s backers have in the past highlighted the un-even playing-field in competing for ships with state-assisted yards in Poland.

Deane said yesterday he did want to reopen that debate, but while shipbuilding work was welcome, the yard was now going out of its way to highlight its other services such as fabrication, hydraulics, electrical, joinery and design.

He said: “What we have been doing is knocking on doors and trying to look at other markets, and it was prohibitive to talk about ourselves as shipbuilders – even though all the skills exist and have always existed in the shipyard.”

The contract is to refit and refurbish a vessel which arrived from south-east Asia into Port Glasgow at the end of 2009 to create the company’s first accommodation support vessel. It will also provide 10 new jobs at Ferguson Group’s headquarters at Inverurie.

Ferguson said a market consultation had pointed to a lack of suitable accommodation support vessels with appropriate quality and standards. “We chose these vessels because they are the most flexible option and we believe we should adapt solutions to suit our clients and not expect them to adapt their requirements. This is a major development for the offshore market – other accommodation support vessels only offer fixed complexes built as one unit.”

The Ferguson Group employs more than 140 staff worldwide through its divisions serving the offshore container rental and accommodation modules markets.