New concerns have surfaced over the future of the nationalised shipyard firm at the centre of Scotland's ferry fiasco as MSPs say they were told there was no sight of future work.

The worries came after members of the Scottish Parliament’s net zero, energy and transport committee were shown around the Port Glasgow shipyard on Friday and left concerned about its future prospects.

The delegation say they were told that the award of the contract for a new small ferries fleet would secure its immediate future and could be provided without committed investment from the Scottish Government of £25m to modernise the yard - previously seen as vital for its future.

In November, then wellbeing economy secretary Neil Gray said that it had so far been unable to agree to put new investment into the shipyard firm to support a business plan that takes it beyond just the delivery of the much-delayed lifeline ferries.

The group left the meeting believing that the only thing keeping the yard going is the money for completion of two wildly delayed and over budget ferries.

Revealed: Sturgeon forged ahead with ferry fiasco deal despite warning on key issues

Plans to begin procurement of a new wave of initially seven vital lifeline ferries for Scotland's islanders has already been delayed by nearly two years.

But there are concerns that without a direct award, the yard would fail in a competitive tender for the work, that is seen as crucial for its future.

Ferguson Marine had failed to get onto the shortlist of potential contractors after failing at the first Pre Qualification Questionnaire hurdle for the £105m contract for the first of two two-ferry contracts that were given to the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Turkey.

And it subsequently failed to even bid for the work on building the £115m second batch before it was again awarded to the same Turkish shipyard.

The Herald: The Turkish shipyard and (inset) an artist's impression of the ferries they are currently building.

Ferguson Marine conducted a detailed analysis of bidding for the contract but concluded that, based on the associated documents published, the probability of winning the contract was "sufficiently low to recommend declining to bid".

Papers associated with the decision showed that it was believed that the qualification conditions in the tender documents contained criteria Ferguson Marine could not meet.

Key factors included that the two vessels in the series had already been awarded to Cemre Marin Endustri.

Two new ferries Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa being built at the nationalised Ferguson Marine shipyard were due online in the first half of 2018, with one initially to serve Arran and the other to serve the Skye triangle routes to North Uist and Harris, but are at least six years late, with costs expected to be quadruple the original £97m contract. It has been confirmed that both are now to serve Arran.

Glen Sannox, was launched by Nicola Sturgeon nearly seven years ago and is not expected to be ready till July at the earliest.

Launch of the Glen Sannox ferry from Ferguson's in 2017 led by then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

Glen Rosa was meant to be delivered to CalMac in August 2018, but that is currently scheduled for May 2025.

But the dates of arrival have been constantly in a state of flux as their construction has been plagued by design challenges, cost overruns and delays.

It the midst of the delays and soaring costs, Ferguson Marine under the control of tycoon Jim McColl fell into administration and was nationalised at the end of 2019 with CMAL and the yard's management blaming each other.

GMB Scotland, the main union in the yard, said decisions over the potential to direct award need to be taken soon as workers are already being seconded to other yards, which risks it losing the necessary skills and experience.

Gary Cook, GMB Scotland senior organiser in engineering, said workers are blameless for the soaring costs and missed deadlines of the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa and deserve to know the small ferries will be built there.

“There is no more time to lose because, even if the contracts are awarded tomorrow, the work would not start until next year risking the loss of vital skills and experience.

“The yard needs the small ferries and from there it can begin to create a pipeline of secure work and secure this yard’s future and the Clyde’s shipbuilding heritage for generations to come.”

 Ferguson Marine say that  Glen Sannox's first recent builder's sea trials were "positive".

The union says morale at the yard has been buoyed by the successful sea trials saying the ship is said to have outperformed all expectations.

Mr Cook said: “This yard is now completely united and focused on the future.

“Workers deserve to know their yard will have a future and taxpayers deserve to know there will be a return on the money already invested.

“These small ferries must be built at Ferguson Marine. It can do this work, needs this work, and should be given this work as a matter of urgency.

The co-chairs of the Inverclyde Socio-Economic Task Force have already written to First Minister Humza Yousaf asking him to intervene and ensure that the contract for a new small ferries fleet is directly awarded to nationalised Ferguson Marine. But so far there has been silence.

Transport committee convener Edward Mountain said: "We were really pleased to see the standards and finish of the Glen Sannox and wish that it had been delivered to the islanders in 2018 when promised. If that boat had been ready in 2018 we would have something we would have been proud of and secured the yard's future.

"We are concerned for the future of the yard, because we were told its future relies greatly on projects like the delivery of the small vessels programme."

The Conservative Highlands and Islands MSP said that after the delivery there was a gap with no orders and said the small vessels contract is needed to secure the future of the years.

"I see a yard with 330 people who have incredible skills and I see a yard empty of orders. It belongs to you and me, the Scottish people and what are we going to do with it," he said.

"The only thing keeping them going at the moment is the money from the ferries."

David Tydeman, the chief executive of Ferguson Marine has said that if it could get the small ferry programme and a pipeline of work from the Type 26 programme they would have a "sustainable five-year vision ahead of us".

In the meantime it has been trying to position itself as a key subcontractor for the delivery of the City Class Type 26 frigates on the Clyde.

The Herald:

Contract work from BAE Systems which is delivering the frigates and trumpeted as "signalling a new dawn" at the yard was valued at just £2m. But the yard is pushing for more work.

But Mr Tydeman has said in an October analysis that even if it got more work from BAE Systems, it would not keep the yard completely busy after the second of the two ferries was completed and that they "need something else"

"We need to get into a drumbeat of work that is within our capabilities and that we can do consistently, using the facilities as they are currently built, so that we are not trying to do something that stretches the facilities or stretches the team," he said.

"We have to restore our reputation and have a new chapter in the future of the yard. If we choose wisely the right work, we will win back our reputation. We have a weak design team and weak design capability. Choosing the small ferry programme, which is a relatively simple package that is repeatable, working with BAE as a subcontractor with its design and assembly procedures and routines, provides a stable environment in which I think we can do well."

The board of state-owned shipyard firm Ferguson Marine had previously stated a lack of commitment over future Scottish Government investment in upgrading facilities at what is the last surviving commercial shipbuilder on the Clyde, meant the ability to pursue a vital Scottish Government contract to build seven small ferries "remains uncertain".

In February, 2021, state-owned ferry owners and buyers, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited said that the procurement for the replacement vessels was "on course" to begin within the next 12 months. In August, CMAL was finally expecting the first questionnaire stage of the procurement process to begin in November. It has yet to start.

The first vessel is provisionally expected to be delivered between July and August of 2026 with the last due in the last three months of 2028.

A Scottish Government infrastructure investment plan update in September, 2021 stated that all seven vessels would serve island communities "within the next five years".

Finance secretary Shona Robison advised at the end of last year that the small lifeline ferries replacement plan had been "reprofiled" as had harbour improvements at Ardrossan and Gourock.

It meant that an initial £41m spending plan on the ferries was due to be put back to the next financial year - 2024/25. It is estimated by some that this will push the process back a further year.

Also put off was an estimated £34m spend on harbour improvements at Ardrossan and Gourock.

Campaigners have been pinning their hopes on Ferguson Marine getting a direct award of small ferries contract from the Scottish Government which is already looking to do the same for ferry operator CalMac as it is the 'preferred option' for the next Clyde & Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) lifeline services contract.

Loss-making Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) has pinned its hopes on heavy involvement in the contract from the Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency for the replacement of seven 50m ageing 'loch class' ferries vessels.

A Ferguson Marine spokesman said: “We believe Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) is a strong contender to build small ferries for CMAL."