Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) has invited four shipyards to bid for the contract to build two new ferries for Islay.

Following extensive consultation with Transport Scotland, CalMac, and communities on Islay, a decision has been made to build two vessels, which will provide much needed new tonnage in the fleet and improve the resilience of the network.

The new vessels will have greater vehicle capacity than the current vessels on the route, and will have significantly lower energy requirement. They will be designed with a clear focus on freight, including the capability to operate a possible overnight freight service.

The Islay route is already one of the busiest services for freight on the Clyde and Hebrides network, and the incoming ferries will support the island’s vital economic activity. Sufficient passenger accommodation will be designed to meet an anticipated increase in passenger demand.

Reaching the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage of the procurement process are; Damen Shipyard in Romania, Remontowa Shipbuilding in Poland, and Turkish shipyards Sefine Denizcilik Tersanecilik Turizm, and Cemre Marin Endustri.

Evaluation of the first stage of the procurement exercise, which included an option for a second vessel, is complete.  A total of 35 organisations expressed interest at the first stage of the procurement exercise and responses were received from 11 organisations.

Each submission was assessed rigorously against technical and financial criteria. The shortlisted shipyards will now submit their technical and commercial proposals for the design and construction of the two vessels. Each submission will be rigorously assessed against quality, technical and commercial criteria, and the contract will be awarded to the winning shipyard no later than the end of March 2022.

Jim Anderson, Director of Vessels at CMAL said:

“We received interest from many shipyards across the world, and carried out robust assessment of their technical and financial suitability to take on this project.

“Four shipyards scored the highest across both criteria and have now been issued an ITT for the contract. This stage of the procurement process will take around six months, and we hope to award the contract to the winning shipyard at the end of March 2022.

“The ITT stage marks an important step forward in bringing a new vessel to Islay and Jura.  It is one of several new vessel and harbour upgrade projects we are currently progressing to improve the resilience of ferry services for island communities.”


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