CMAL chooses shipyard for seven electric ferries

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) will award the contract to Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdansk, Poland, following a 10-day standstill period.

The Small Vessel Replacement Programme will see seven fully electric vessels built in the first phase. Three more will be delivered in phase two of the project, which will be procured through a separate competitive tender process later this year.

The electric ferries will help to support island communities and improve the resilience of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry network, with delivery of the first vessel expected in 2027.

Following an initial exercise to identify suitably qualified and experienced shipyards, six were invited to tender for the contract, with five yards returning responses.

A statement from CMAL said bids were “robustly” assessed against technical and financial criteria, with a 65/35% weighting, respectively. The panel scoring the bids consisted of third-party marine specialists and experts from CMAL.

When scores across criteria were combined, Remontowa’s bid achieved the highest score and was identified as the winning yard.

CMAL chief executive Kevin Hobbs said, “It is our responsibility to follow the Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland and appoint a yard capable of producing quality vessels which meet the needs of islanders, but that also deliver the best value for the public purse.

“We are confident in Remontowa’s ability, and have worked with them before, most recently with the delivery of Finlaggan in 2011. We will now enter a 10-day standstill period before finalising the contract.”

CalMac chief executive Duncan Mackison said, “Confirming the lead bidder is a significant milestone for CalMac, and we’re excited to introduce these new, modern small vessels to the fleet from 2027 onwards. Small vessels are an integral part of our operation, and new tonnage will allow us to improve the resilience of our service and the experience customers have on these routes.

“These seven new vessels, when combined with the six major new vessels joining the fleet in 2025 and 2026, will mean a third of our entire fleet has been renewed.”