THE very welcome resurrection of Ferguson’s Shipyard in Port Glasgow was good news for the workers, Inverclyde’s economy and Caledonian MacBrayne.

Hopefully it means most of CalMac’s ships can be built there in the future, now that the Port yard is on a sound footing, instead of orders going abroad.

That would prevent the problems which resulted in CalMac’s new Western Isles ferry, Loch Seaforth, having to be brought to Greenock’s Inchgreen Drydock last week to be finished because the German builders hit financial difficulties.

The Scottish Government had to step in to make an advance payment so that legal ownership could be transferred from the builders to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) — the government company which owns the ships leased to CalMac.

Loch Seaforth was due to go into service between Lewis and Ullapool in the summer, so the delay will not have gone down well with the people who travel on the route, never mind CalMac, CMAL and the Scottish Government.

Ferguson’s have done the business for CalMac on many occasions and, indeed, have already secured a deal to build a third hybrid-powered vessel for them since Jim McColl, ebuillient boss of the Clyde Blowers empire, took over the keys to the historic yard in September.

Prospects at the yard are much improved since the dark days of August, when it was feared Lower Clyde shipbuilding had sunk.

Thankfully, the proud name of Ferguson’s will live long and prosper!