THE chief executive of Ferguson Marine, where the two delayed and over-budget CalMac ferries are being built, has been sacked by the state-owned company’s board.
David Tydeman’s contract was terminated by the shipyard, though the reasons for his sudden departure were not immediately made clear.
The chairman of the Ferguson Marine board 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.
READ MORE: 'The guts have been torn out of Arran': Urgent calls to fix ferry service
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 £145.5 million 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 Petticrew, a number of other senior appointments were announced by the Ferguson Marine board on Tuesday.
Board 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, 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 Tydeman’s leadership and compared him favourably to the shipyard’s previous management, saying he “talked sense”.
Tydeman joined the Port Glasgow shipyard in 2022, having previously run a yacht-building company.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel