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e struggling but now they’re at the forefront of a naval construction bonanza, including the UK’s new aircraft carriers and Type 26 frigates.
According to recent figures from industry body Maritime UK, there are almost 30,000 people directly employed in shipbuilding across Scotland.
Ferguson’s may be a minnow compared to the big yards but it could still be part of that successful swarm.
Indeed, its order book is already filling up – last month it won a contract to build a dual-fuel hydrogen-powered ferry for the Western Isles, a first for the UK.
It’s obviously a potential growth market and a big part of the Scottish Government’s plan to hit net-zero emissions by 2045 – but unless Ferguson’s can ramp up its productivity it can’t compete with yards elsewhere in the world for these kind of contracts.
There is one powerful incentive to support ailing shipyards like Ferguson’s.
Earlier in my career, I worked at the Ravenscraig steelworks in Lanarkshire as it was being shut down.
The reverberations of that trauma are still being felt 20 years on, the scars are deep and local economies don’t recover quickly from the loss of such employers.
What Ferguson’s needs now is a clear sense of direction.
Shipbuilding is a global industry like no other where unfair competition – the Poles are notorious but by no means unique – is just a part of the scenery.
You might argue that a mature industry like shipbuilding, which has been around since the 18th Century, should now be allowed to fail gracefully.
But that’s a view confined to ivory towers. For communities like Port Glasgow, Ferguson’s means hope, dignity and a lot of historical pride.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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