Administrators have now agreed the final terms of the transaction with Scottish ministers.

This follows the conclusion by administrators that three indicative commercial offers for the business were either not capable of being executed or did not represent a better outcome for creditors than a sale to the Scottish Government.

Employees at the Inverclyde yard have been informed of the latest position.

Economy secretary Derek Mackay said: “We have been working for over two years to find a resolution to the difficulties at Ferguson Marine and our priorities remain the completion of the two CalMac ferries, protecting jobs, and securing a future for the yard. In the absence of a workable commercial solution, the administrators have concluded that public ownership is in the best interests of the creditors.

“Now that this has been confirmed, I am determined that we continue to work closely with everyone at the yard to progress work on the vessels and achieve the best possible outcome for the yard and its employees.

“Recruiting more staff to Ferguson Marine is a significant step forward in making this happen. Establishing a revised timetable for the completion of the two ferries also remains one of the main tasks for the management at the yard and I will give an update on the schedule and cost for delivery of the two ferries as soon as possible.

“While there is still more to be done, our actions have ensured that there will be a future for Ferguson Marine.”

Inverclyde SNP leader Chris McEleny has said the move should launch the Lower Clyde into a shipbuilding and marine job boom as he called for a rolling programme of new CalMac ferries to be built at the Port Glasgow shipyard, which he believes will be the foundation of an industrial revival in Inverclyde. 

He said: “This day has been known about for some time but Derek Mackay should be praised for delivering on the guarantee he gave to workers at the yard. 

“As we know we have an ageing CalMac fleet, with the ability to give the yard 20 years of guaranteed work to build a new modern fleet of CalMac vessels, we can provide a strong foundation to re-industrialise the entire lower Clyde on the back of that guarantee. This yard and it’s hard-working staff has the potential to grow to create at least 800 jobs in the near future. This is an ambition I want to deliver for Inverclyde.”