Ferguson Marine: Scots ferry boss sacked

The chief executive of Ferguson Marine has been sacked by the state-owned company’s board.

David Tydeman’s contract was terminated by the shipyard, where the two delayed and over-budget CalMac ferries are being built, though the reasons for his sudden departure were not immediately made clear.

The company’s chairman said “strong leadership” is needed to ensure the shipyard’s future and John Petticrew – a non-executive director – has been appointed as interim chief executive.

Mr Tydeman had recently sought to highlight progress on the first vessel, Glen Sannox, praising its performance in sea trials earlier this year.

It emerged last month that costs for the Glen Sannox will rise to between £145.5m and £149.1m, while the Glen Rosa will be delivered “no later than” September 2025.

Under the latest estimates, the work to build the two ferries will be around triple the first price of £97m and they will be handed over to CalMac six years late.

As well as Mr Petticrew, a number of other senior appointments were announced by the Ferguson Marine board on Tuesday.

Chairman Andrew Miller 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 (Glen Rosa), 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.”

In February, Mr Miller told MSPs it would be harder to return the business to the private sector without investment in a new automated plating line – with the company seeking further finance from the Scottish Government.

The company is due to submit a new business case for this to the Government by the end of this month.

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”.

Mr Tydeman joined the Port Glasgow shipyard in 2022, having previously worked at Fairline Yachts, Oyster Yachts, Skanska and AWG Plc.

For the year to March 31, 2023, Ferguson Marine’s revenue increased from £54.6m to £64.4m while its net deficit before tax widened from £331,000 to £866,000.

The company was established in 1903 and nationalised by the Scottish Government in 2019.