Scottish Government to Tender for Seven New Electric Ferries
The Scottish government is set to tender for a series of seven new electric ferries for the Clyde and Hebrides network.
The first stage of the competitive tender process will assess if shipyards interested in bidding for the contract meet the financial and technical criteria to take on the project, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), the government-owned entity that owns ferries, ports, harbors and infrastructure for ferry services on the west coast of Scotland and the Clyde Estuary, and the Northern Isles.
Estimated costs for Phase 1 of the Small Vessels Replacement Program (SVRP) are around £175 million, for the seven new vessels as well as port improvements and shore power upgrades, CMAL said.
The company said an invitation to tender for this contact will be issued around September 2024. A contract is expected to be awarded by March 2025.
"The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to improving our ferry fleet to better meet the needs of island communities, so I’m very pleased to see the procurement process for seven new small vessels get underway today," said Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop.
"Our intention is that these ferries would be deployed on seven existing routes, but would also bring benefits to two other routes from the redeployment of existing vessels. These nine routes currently serve around 30% of the car and passenger carryings on the Clyde and Hebrides network," Hyslop added.
Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer at CMAL, said, "We welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to progress the SVRP. What matters for us is being able to move forward with our plans to improve the fleet with new vessels. This is great news for island communities, and we look forward to delivering the all-electric lifeline vessels over the coming years."