Hundreds of jobs have been saved after the Scottish Government announced its plans to nationalise a Port Glasgow shipyard on the brink of collapse.

Ferguson Marine Engineering in Port Glasgow is the last commercial shipyard on the Clyde, and around 350 jobs were put at risk after Jim McColl's Clyde Blowers took the first steps towards administration last week.

It is the second time the firm behind the site have begun the administritave process, with Clyde Blowers buying the shipyard out five years ago.

They thereafter landed a 'disastrous' £97m contract to build two dual-ferries for CalMac.

But as the job continued, the deal became increasingly expensive - as well as a two-year delay.

READ MORE: Call for inquiry after Fergusons shipyard bosses confirm administration plan

On Friday, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay met with workers at the site to talk about nationalisation plans.

The GMB Union welcomed the government's intervention.

GMB Scotland Organiser and CSEU Scotland Chair, Gary Cook, said: “Nationalisation secures the immediate future of the yard and that is a very welcome development, particularly after all the recent uncertainty.

"Our members were caught in the middle of a situation that had nothing to do with them and their relief will be palpable. It is five years since the yard went bust and the Scottish Government has prevented that from happening again.

“We must be clear that nationalisation will not be a quick-fix and there will be challenges. There will for example be limits to the amount of private sector work for which the yard can compete but the alternative to nationalisation was closure and that was no choice at all.

READ MORE: Fergusons shipyard faces renewed threat of administration with 350 jobs at risk

“Our immediate priority is to secure the re-employment of the workers released last weekend because their skills are essential and then we will insist the government works with us to develop a proper industrial plan for the yard because lessons must be learned.

“We can now look to the future and everyone should do so with a sense of purpose. With vision and competency we can get on with building the ships Scotland needs and together we can grow jobs and prosperity on the lower Clyde.”

Inverclyde Council leader, councillor Stephen McCabe, said: “We fully welcome the news that the workers at Ferguson Marine will have some job security. We also fully welcome the commitment from the Scottish Government to deliver on the existing ferry contracts. 

"Questions will rightly be asked about how it came to this after the successful outcome from the task force in 2014 when Clyde Blowers became the preferred bidder for the Ferguson yard. The yard then and now has enormous potential.  That potential has only partly been realised to date. 

"The highly skilled and experienced workforce, as well as the yard itself, should be viewed as a national asset.  The Scottish Government has our support over bringing the yard under public control if it is committed to ensuring the continued success of the business not just in an Inverclyde context or to deliver the current ferry contracts but as a long term part of our country’s industrial and marine strategies.”