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Ferguson Marine - Interim update

Letter from Ferguson Marine to the Convener, 9 February 2022

Dear Mr Lockhart,

Update on Hulls 801 & 802

I regret to advise you that a problem has recently emerged with the build of 801 which I thought I should immediately bring to your attention.

Each of the ferries under construction at Ferguson relies on a complex network of cables, requiring the installation of over 9800 individual cables with a total length of 243km. Approximately 15% of these (Legacy Cables) were installed on 801 under the control of Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited (FMEL) prior to its Administration in August 2019. None of the Legacy Cables were installed after the Scottish Government took control of the yard.

It has recently emerged that a large proportion of the Legacy Cables have not been installed in line with the engineering information held by FMEL, leaving the free ends too short connect them to the equipment.

Initial indications were that this issue was restricted to a small number of cables and a rework and survey process was immediately established to address the problem. This revealed the true scale of the problem and the conclusion that 801 will face a delay. Investigations are continuing and it now appears that the scale of the problem is such that the best solution is likely to be to cut out most or all the Legacy Cables and start again with a properly controlled process.

Background

FMEL did not have the in-house expertise to design and install the electrical and control systems for 801 and 802 and subcontracted the entire scope of work under a design and build contract. This is not uncommon for smaller shipyards.

The contractor selected was a highly regarded international supplier of marine systems who designed the overall electrical, electronic and control systems for the ships and supplied the relevant equipment. They subcontracted the installation of the cables to a company specialising in this area, who installed the Legacy Cables in late 2018/early 2019.

When cables are installed onto a vessel they follow a cable plan which shows the start and finish points and the routing in between. The cables are installed on this route and the ends are left coiled up ready for connection to the equipment that they supply. The cables typically run directly from the main switchboard in the machinery spaces to each piece of equipment and some are over 100m long.

The design and build contractor for the electrical work terminated its contract when FMEL entered administration and a new contract for installation of the remaining cables was awarded in December 2020. The new supplier carried out a survey in early 2021 which was intended to identify which cables had been installed on 801 and formed a basis for planning and the final scope of work. The survey established that there are 1399 legacy cables on 801, a few of which were redundant and required removal. The working assumption was that the cables had been correctly installed and the routings were not inspected. The coiled ends were not unwound and measured, not least because it is common practice for these coils to be too long.

Work to install new cables started in late 2021 and included the final installation of the coiled ends of the legacy cables and their connection to the relevant equipment. In the week ending 24th December 2021 it emerged that some of the coils were too short to reach the equipment and a survey and rework process was started on 10th January, with work done on nightshift to avoid interfering with other activity.

The survey was done by zone and did not specifically focus on cables which looked most likely to be a problem. After 3 weeks 131 legacy cables have been assessed and 88% were found to have some form of issue.

Ferguson engineers have been reviewing the information on the legacy cables to judge the scale of the problem. Currently, their assessment is that at least 400 cables will need to be addressed with the worst case 939 cables.

Solution

Our initial view was that this problem could be solved by addressing the problem cables only, either through pull-back and rerouting or replacement. This is a time-consuming process and, given the results of the investigation, our approach has changed. The solution being developed is based on the complete or near-complete removal of legacy cables and a properly controlled installation process. This is likely to be quicker than rework and has the advantage that it will remove the risk of other problems.

Project Impact
The legacy cables are predominantly in the machinery spaces and either supply equipment required to commission the vessel, or they run in cable trays which will also support new cables. Commissioning and further cable installation cannot take place until the legacy cables are corrected, delaying the overall project to deliver 801. There will inevitably be knock-on effects that will delay the schedule for 802.

At present it is not possible to determine the impact on schedule and cost.

David Tydeman, permanent CEO of Ferguson Marine, has recently joined the business and is working with the management team to develop a recovery plan that deals with the Legacy Cables and minimises the impact on the project. He will provide details of the revised schedule and project cost in the next quarterly update which will be submitted at the end of March 2022.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Hair
Turnaround Director