Ferguson Marine: Ferry fiasco firm chief sacked amidst new delays

The Scottish Government has said any more delays are “unacceptable”.

Andrew Miller, the chairman of Ferguson Marine said it needed "strong leadership" to ensure its long-term future.

Ministers have expressed regular concern at increases in costs and delays in the chief executive's quarterly updates.

Wellbeing economy secretary Mairi McAllan said was a matter for the board and confirmed that it came amidst of new delays over the delivery of the first of two lifeline vessels Glen Sannox.

She added: “I am focused on the Scottish Government’s priorities of completing the two ferries, ensuring [Ferguson Marine] drives down on costs, and securing a sustainable future for the yard and its skilled workforce.

“While the yard had previously stated that the delivery date for Glen Sannox was planned for late May, we are aware that, in the last week, the outgoing CEO intimated further delay was likely.

“That is unacceptable. I know the board are intent on doing everything they can to ensure that delay does not happen.

“I will be stressing to the new interim CEO and the board the importance of the ferries entering service to our island communities as soon as possible.”

READ MORE: Ferguson Marine: Ferry fiasco firm could be privatised in 18 months

Costs continue to soar over new ferries Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa being built at the Inverclyde yard, which 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.

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.

In 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.

Mr Tydeman is being replaced by fourth generation shipbuilder John Petticrew as interim chief executive.

According to Ferguson Marine Mr Petticrew has a "long career in shipbuilding and infrastructure construction with over 40 years of experience, spanning three different continents".

They say Mr Petticrew, who became a non-executive director of Ferguson Marine in May, 2022, started his career at Scott's Cartsburn Yard in Greenock and held various senior management positions and was responsible for construction of a $1 billion fleet of highly sophisticated vessels for an oil and gas major in the Middle East.

Scottish Conservative shadow transport minister Graham Simpson said Mr Tydeman was the "latest scapegoat for the SNP’s ferries scandal and they must urgently offer an explanation as to why he’s been fired".

He said: “The only people not held accountable are those who are most responsible: the SNP Government. It beggars belief that not a single ministerial resignation has been offered when the buck stops with them for years of grotesque mismanagement of Scotland’s ferry network.

“While they try to pass the buck with another round of boardroom hiring and firing, our betrayed island communities continue to wait for the lifeline vessels they were promised years ago to finally be delivered.”

He added: “It’s shocking that Glen Sannox is facing yet another delay.

“Mairi McAllan describes that as ‘unacceptable’ and appears to have sacked David Tydeman because of it. She must now come to parliament to explain the extent of the latest delays and the cost implications for the taxpayer.

“SNP ministers can’t pass the buck. It’s their responsibility for these two vessels being six years late and hugely over budget.”

GMB Scotland, the biggest union at Ferguson Marine,  said the workforce now deserves stability, new contracts and a secure future.

Alex Logan, the union’s convenor at the yard, said: “Whoever is to blame for the problems with these ferries, it is categorically not the workers.

“They are skilled, committed and have endured years of unfair criticism and ongoing uncertainty about the future of their yard.

“Given the opportunity and the right leadership, this workforce can build a far brighter future for Ferguson Marine.

“We wish the new leadership of the yard well but they must be given every possible support from the Scottish Government to urgently build and deliver a business plan that will secure contracts, protect skills and sustain jobs.

“This yard is crucial to families and communities around Port Glasgow and deserves to be protected and promoted after being used as a political punchbag for far too long.

“We would urge ministers to work with the leadership team to deliver stability and assurance to the workers and protect the legacy of shipbuilding on the Clyde.”

The company is due to submit a new business case for this to the Government by the end of this month that aims to transition the yard away from the delivery of the ferries into projects.

Ministers have been under pressure to rescue Ferguson's with £25m of support after it was revealed that their advisers backed moves to secure the nationalised shipyard's future.

The Scottish Government has withheld financial support for the Port Glasgow yard despite its advisers being in favour of a support package to secure its future.

The board at Ferguson's has stated that a failure to get a committed investment of £25m to support future work casts "significant doubt" on its ability to continue.

And it has placed a question mark over hopes to win a contract from Transport Scotland for the replacement of up to seven ageing ferries vessels serving the Clyde and Hebrides.

In 2022, a number of Ferguson Marine workers who took part in an informal meeting with MSPs praised Mr Tydeman’s leadership and compared him favourably to the shipyard’s previous management, saying he “talked sense”.

But Mr Tydeman was at the centre of further controversy when the Herald revealed last year he got an estimated £20,000 golden hello while standing to gain up to £80,000 in bonus payments.

Ferguson Marine Glasgow (Port Glasgow) chief executive David Tydeman received £1000 a day for just over eight weeks work at the start of his time with the nationalised company thanks to a salary boost.

It led to new concerns about the bonus culture at the shipyard firm delivering two long-delayed ferries which has received over £450m of public money and led to new calls for a public inquiry.

The chairman of FMPG said in the summer of last year that controversial bonuses were expected to continue to be paid - despite the First Minister saying at the end of April, last year he did not expect them to continue.

A secret bonus bill to Ferguson Marine management reached £134,218 over two years, while the two ferries remained undelivered.

Mr Tydeman, who was on a £205,000-a-year basic salary received around £57,500 for the first two months of his appointment - over £20,000 more than the pro-rata rate.

Ferguson Marine's financial records do not show that Mr Tydeman received any further bonuses in the two months and that the payment was pure salary.

But it was confirmed that the extra payments in terms of salary were given in the form of "recruitment costs" and a relocation package for Mr Tydeman establishing a base in the local area.

It emerged that he was eligible to gain a 30% bonus for the financial year of 2022/23 - although it at the time it had yet to be finally agreed. It was later confirmed that he received almost £40,000 in bonuses in the year and would be eligible for more.

READ MORE: Ferguson Marine: ScotGov firm admits 'significant doubt' over future

The bonus culture concerns came in the wake of an outcry over the more than £2000-a-day remuneration, made up of fees and expenses given to Ferguson Marine's previous Scottish Government-appointed turnaround director Tim Hair who left his post in February, 2022.

The Scottish Government defended the payments to Mr Hair as being "in the middle of the industry norm".

Mr Tydeman's 30% bonus package had previously been kept secret by the shipyard firm, and blocked in at least one Freedom of Information request.

But a confidential memo from the Scottish Government's commercial interventions department on Mr Tydeman's remuneration package states that recruitment consultants had advised them that elements of his pay package including relocation allowance and bonus arrangements were "expected" for an "appointment of this kind".

Mr Tydeman's performance for the year to the end of March 2023 "in terms of an incentive payment" was said to be under review and was being measured at unspecified 'key performance indicators'.

But it had already been confirmed that £87,000 had been paid to certain members of the management team for performance in 2021/22 with a further £47,000 more expected in 2022/23 And the Ferguson Marine chairman has said that it is perfectly reasonable that performance payments continue to be paid into this financial year.

The head of Scotland's public spending watchdog said in May, last year that moves for a shake-up over governance rules at Ferguson Marine had still to be resolved despite a row over the bonuses paid to executives.

Auditor General Stephen Boyle said that a revised performance framework for Ferguson Marine's senior managers and chief executive was still awaiting approval and consideration by the Scottish Government.

He said that spoke to the "lack of clarity" over how the Scottish Government expected Ferguson Marine to operate.

George Crookston – one of those who benefitted from the bonus scheme – left his post in mid February, after being appointed in March 2020. He is also no longer a member of the board, which serves as its governing body.

Mr Crookston, received incentive payments as part of the controversial bonus scheme of approximately £17,500 in 2021/22.

That was on top of a remuneration package made up of approximately £122,500 in salary and £6500 in pension benefits.

The management bonus is said to be in two parts, 7.5% to be paid upon delivery of the hull of the Glen Sannox and “a further 10% discretionary element”.

The company while parting company with Mr Tydeman has also made several senior appointments as its board moves forward with its plans to "strengthen the economic sustainability" of the yard.

A newly created role of chief operations officer has been established to support the delivery of the board’s business plan. Paul Blake has worked in the maritime industry for more than 30 years leading construction, upgrade, and activation projects in major shipyards across the globe. He will lead the ongoing operational improvements at the Port Glasgow yard.

David Dishon has joined as chief financial officer following senior roles in transport businesses including Network Rail, Caledonian Sleeper and Loganair. With three decades of financial management experience, the former Clyde Football Club chairman will be responsible for implementing and monitoring the organisation’s financial strategy.

Ferguson Marine have also recruited two additional non-executive directors to further strengthen the Ferguson Marine board.

Simon Cunningham, a former partner with Scott-Moncrieff and chief internal auditor at AEGON UK, brings saudit, risk management, governance, and financial reporting expertise. He chairs the business’s audit and risk committee.

Jim Gibson was said to have a "proven track record" of driving sustainable change and delivering restructured business performance models. He has worked with organisations including BAE Systems, Police Scotland and Sellafield Ltd and has over 20 years of non-executive director experience.

The shipyard firm chairman said: “Ferguson Marine needs strong leadership to ensure its long-term future. The board recognised that action needed to be taken to restructure the current leadership team and it has taken these steps to address this.

“Our focus is on the completion of Glen Sannox and hull 802, and the implementation of a robust business plan to improve the commercial viability of Ferguson Marine. With this new senior management team in place and a full complement of board members, we have the breadth and depth of experience and capability to drive forward these plans.”