MINISTERS have come under fire after it emerged that the Scottish benefits from a £105m ferry contract to Turkey was £35,000 and a week long "holiday" for apprentices.
After a 10-day standstill period, after Cemre Marin Endustri was announced as the preferred bidder for the order, the contract was finally approved by state-controlled ferry owners and procurers Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) and the Turkish shipyard firm.
Now CMAL has confirmed that the community benefits to Scotland are to give up to three Scottish apprentices one week's work experience at the Cemre shipyard every year over the course of the three year build and a total of £30,000 to its fund to support projects across Scotland.
There were no benefits through sub-contracting or the provision of parts and equipment.
Chris McEleny, an Inverclyde councillor and general secretary of Alex Salmond's Alba Party said the community benefits were "laughable" adding: "This a sad day for Scottish shipbuilding and the Scottish Government should be ashamed that they have allowed this to happen."
The first vessel is expected to be delivered by October 2024 and will enter service following sea trials and crew familiarisation before serving Islay. The second vessel will follow in early 2025.
READ MORE: 'Embarrassment': Two CalMac ferries to be built in Turkey
CMAL says the new vessels will bring an almost 40% increase in vehicle and freight capacity on the Islay routes, a reduction in emissions and improve the resilience of the wider fleet.
The decision to rubber stamp the contract came despite the move being described as an "embarrassment" for the SNP by the Scottish Conservatives.
It also comes after CMAL were accused of acting unlawfully over the awarding of the key contract, which the ferry owners deny.
It comes in the wake of concern that the nationalised shipbuilder Ferguson Marine failed to get a look in when it pitched for the contract to build two new vessels to serve Islay.
The ground-breaking Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 when it was brought in was seen by many as a welcome move away from contracts awarded only on the basis of the lowest price towards those which offer the best long-term outcomes for Scotland’s communities and the environment.
The Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard
Public contracts valued at £4m or above have specific requirements in relation to community benefits in the authority area that a contract is issued.
These should include training and recruitment, the availability of sub-contracting opportunities, partnership arrangements, provision of parts and equipment and how it is intended to improve the economic, social or environmental well-being of the area.
If no community benefits are sought in a contract, a statement must be published justifying the decision.
CMAL said that they had been "committed to encouraging the provision of community benefits through their contracts" and recognised a "contractual requirement" in relation to training and recruitment and availability of sub-contracting opportunities.
Finance secretary Kate Forbes stated that in line with the Procurement Reform (Scotand) Act 2014, bidders for the Islay procurement process were required to detail the community benefits they are able to offer within their response to the invitation to tender.
Submissions from the four yards were being evaluated including the responses to the community benefits section included within the original contract notice.
Mr McEleny who had been pushing for community benefit assurances expressed shock at what he called "a holiday to Turkey" was being used as a valuable community benefit.
"The abject failure of re-industrialising the Clyde has resulted in a lucrative contract to build Scottish ferries in Turkey. Every single member of the Scottish Government should be embarrassed to set foot near the Clyde again.
"They could just take £30,000 of the contract to go back to CMAL to spend at their leisure.
"Make no mistake, awarding this contract to Turkey is a political decision of the Scottish Government.
"Nicola Sturgeon’s lack of care over Scottish shipbuilding jobs being jeopardised by her government’s apathy is no different from Margaret Thatcher's stance towards Clyde shipyard workers in the 1980s."
In a response to past concerns about the community benefits to Scotland, CMAL's head of business support CMAL's head of business support Brian Fulton said in a letter that the request for community benefits had only been "advisory".
The Islay route is already one of the busiest services for freight on the Clyde and Hebrides network, and CMAL says that the incoming ferries will support the island’s vital economic activity.
The four shortlisted shipyards were to submit their technical and commercial proposals for the design and construction of the two vessels.
The successful initial bids were from Damen Shipyard in Romania, Remontowa Shipbuilding in Poland, and Turkish shipyards Sefine Denizcilik Tersanecilik Turizm, and Cemre Marin Endustri.
But it was confirmed Ferguson Marine embarked in a bid for the contract through the initial Pre-Qualification Questionnaire process but failed to make the shortlist.
It prompted Alex Salmond's Alba party to call on ministers to directly award all future CalMac ferry orders to nationalised Ferguson Marine and to create one integrated Ferries Scotland body.
Ferguson Marine which runs the last remaining shipyard on the lower Clyde was nationalised after it financially collapsed in August 2019, amid soaring costs and delays to the construction of two lifeline island ferries.
It came five years after tycoon Jim McColl first rescued the yard when it went bust.
The delivery of new island ferries MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802, which were due online in the first half of 2018, are running at least five years late, with costs mushrooming to over £250m.
A spokesperson CMAL spokesman said: “Our contract with Cemre will see local individuals and organisations benefit in a number of ways through both the donation and the offer of work experience for apprentices. These benefits will support the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the Inverclyde area and other communities in Scotland through the allocation of funding from our fund, and training and skills development opportunities for young talent.
“It’s hard to comprehend why a local politician would seek to diminish an opportunity for apprentices in his local area to further their skills, and why he is pouring scorn over funding and opportunities which will undoubtedly benefit the local communities.”
CMAL have also referenced allied port works which employ locally and the benefit to the islanders of having new ferries, and even the fact that Inverclyde-based CMAL employ staff in Scotland. But they are not a community benefit of the contract.
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