All eyes have been on P&O Ferries since they unceremoniously sacked 800 members of staff via video call before having workers escorted from their ships. While the attention they’ve attracted is completely understandable, Scotland’s own ferry company has also been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The Scottish Government took ownership of Ferguson Marine shipyard back in 2019 and it seems the firm has been plagued with nothing but problems ever since. Two ferries are currently being built at the shipyard, one of which was due to begin sailing in 2018, but they have faced extensive delays in recent years resulting in neither of the ships being completed on schedule.
This has been an ongoing issue over the last few years, but things took a turn for the worse when Luke van Beek, ex-commodore and former adviser to the Scottish Government on shipbuilding, spoke out about the cost of completing work on the two ferries, predicting this could soar as high as £400 million. Much more than the £97m cost of the original tender.
Van Beek estimates that the cost of starting from scratch would actually be less than finishing off the current designs, which he has also been critical of, claiming the size of the ships is inappropriate for the way in which they will be used.
In the midst of these comments, Scotland’s shipbuilding industry was dealt another blow, as a Turkish shipyard was selected as the preferred bidder to build two new ferries, which will serve Islay and Jura.
It has emerged that no Scottish yards were included in the bidding process whatsoever, which has drawn criticism, with many questioning why the Scottish Government-owned shipyard wasn’t in a position to be included in the running for this significant £105 million contract.
I’m sure the Turkish-based Cemre Marin Endustri yard will deliver, and it’s long overdue that Scotland’s Island communities are finally one step closer to benefiting from the new ferries, but as a nation which was once renowned the world over for its shipbuilding capabilities, it is sad to see how far Scotland has fallen in this arena.
The Scottish Government stepped in to purchase Ferguson Marine when it was facing a time of real crisis, saving jobs admittedly, but unfortunately it has been one disaster after another, leading to never-ending delays.
In his comments, Van Beek compared the nationalisation of the shipyard to that of Prestwick Airport, which was taken into public ownership in 2013. Sadly, this is another SNP-led venture which has come under fire in recent weeks.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that ministers had decided not to recoup the £50 million given to the airport to keep it afloat since it was nationalised, and this has since led to accusations of unlawful state aid being sanctioned.
Many are questioning the fairness of ploughing funding into one airport when Scotland’s other airports in Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Glasgow, received no equivalent provisions, and the Scottish Affairs Committee has said the money should have been spent equally across all the country’s airports.
It is truly disappointing to see two examples of companies which have been nationalised facing so many issues. The SNP claimed at the time of both deals they would offer stability and give the organisations an opportunity to get out of the crises they were facing, before looking ahead and building a more prosperous future. Instead, both are fraught with problems and may not survive, which many commentators predicted at the time.
One of the biggest criticisms often levelled at the concept of nationalisation and public ownership is a lack of genuine knowledge of the businesses they’re trying to run, and unfortunately this seems to have been borne out.
Perhaps it’s time for the government to engage with new voices and seek opinions from actual business people who can advise on how to shake things up for the benefit of the Scottish economy, rather than just blundering into businesses they simply don’t understand simply to be seen to score some cheap political points.
Fossil fuels back in favour amid energy crisis
COP26, held in Scotland last year, looked set to signal a greener future for the energy industry as both the Scottish and UK Government’s looked towards renewable sources.
With the public and private sector caught on a sustainability wave, the oil and gas sector certainly felt the pinch as legislation and investment looked more favourably on green technology.
So much so, the oil and gas giant, Shell, abandoned plans for their Cambo oil field North Sea development whilst further plans to develop the Jackdaw North Sea gas field was rejected by regulators on environmental grounds late last year.
Fast forward a few months however and rising gas and oil prices, a spike in energy costs for households across the UK and the horrific invasion of Ukraine by Russia – we seem to have come full circle.
Keen to end our reliance on Russian oil and gas, secure more domestic sources and increase our home-grown energy, the UK Government is once again keen to encourage North Sea investment.
However, with climate campaigners and the Scottish Government pushing for less reliance on fossil fuels and investment instead placed in the production of clean energy, Boris Johnston and the UK government are set on a collision course, due to their updated energy strategy – aimed at bolstering the UK’s domestic energy sources through fossil fuels – set to be published later this month.
All eyes will certainly be on Shell and the North Sea in the next few months too, with the PLC having submitted revised plans for the Jackdaw gas field and in turn whether further exploration and investment from other energy companies will be forthcoming.
It will be interesting to see how this energy tug of war plays out between both governments, with a clear schism on how they see our domestic energy supply chain moving forward in the long term.
It Made Me Laugh
The Colonel says no
We all know that top night spot that has a door policy tougher than Barlinnie. The more salubrious the venue, the harder it is to gain entry. It’s a given in any city.
What you don’t expect is a Dundee fast food chain announcing they are putting bouncers on the door, but KFC has done just that due to a spate of anti-social behaviour.
The announcement of a strict door policy, with no entry for under-18s after 6pm without an adult, comes after a fire was started in the restaurant by a minor, rather than the kitchen staff.
Staff having to deal with anti-social behaviour certainly isn’t on, but I did enjoy KFC’s lighthearted social media announcement regarding the issue, stating that the Colonel would not approve.
It Made Me Weep
Targeting a lifeline
Mental health has been high on the news agenda for a while now. Many charities do great work to highlight the problem across Scotland and help those who struggle within their daily lives.
One such charity is the Scottish Association for Mental Health, which provides mental health social care support across 60 communities in the country.
SAMH’s work is invaluable and potentially a lifeline for many, so it was upsetting to see that they suffered a sophisticated cyber attack last week, rendering a lot of their services inoperable.
Why anyone would feel the need to target such an organisation, especially when it helps people sometimes at their lowest point, is beyond me.
However, it is also reminder to all businesses, no matter what sector they operate, that online security is paramount in this day and age.
