IN 2019, before Ferguson Marine was nationalised, I had a letter printed in The Herald cautioning the Scottish Government into using taxpayers' money to support a failing shipyard. This yard had been in receivership so many times over the previous years that it appeared that no one was able to ensure its long-term profitability. Since then we know what has happened.
The Scottish Government nationalised the yard and more and more taxpayers' money has been sunk into Ferguson Marine as it ran into crisis after crisis. Now we read ("Nationalised shipyard gets multi million-pound boost, The Herald, July 17) that even more money is being sent to Ferguson Marine. I wonder when it will stop.
This shipyard seems to be a money pit. The good designers and engineers seem to have left for more stable employment so that those who remain appear incapable of building ships. They cannot design the length of electrical cabling needed so that when it is too short, it had to be removed and new cabling costing millions of pounds refitted.
The bulbous bow was designed wrongly and had to be removed and replaced: again at increased cost. The crew accommodation had to be redesigned to abide by safety regulations relating to emergency exits. I am afraid it just goes on and on.
I feel for the present employees who don't know what their future holds, but throwing good money after bad is not a stable ongoing position. If repeating the same action over and over while expecting a different result is the si.