Scottish yard faces closure

In the latest of a series of setbacks, Ferguson Shipyard in Port Glasgow has lost out on an order from the Aberdeen-based Fisheries Research Services for a new fisheries vessel. Once again, however, the Polish yard of Remontowa has snapped up an order form Scotland despite political pressure on the Scottish Executive to place the order with a local shipbuilder.

Opposition politicians have labeled the decision as a ?black day? for the yard which is now in danger of facing closure with a loss of 300 jobs. They claim that other EU countries manage to support their domestic ship building industries in compliance with EU rules, so why can’t Scotland do the same? Furthermore, it is alleged that the Polish yard is under investigation for illegal subsidies and that the Executive has discriminated against the Scottish shipbuilding industry.