Coastal Workboats ceases trading
Coastal Workboats Scotland, which specialises in catamarans for aquaculture, among other work, has collapsed, it was announced at the weekend.
Despite receiving £6.2 million in government funding last year, the company has gone into administration.
The company specialised in steel landing utility vessels (LUVs) and catamarans for aquaculture and marine work, and recently focused on building the UK's first electric workboats.
Financial challenges are blamed for the situation.
Michelle Elliot, partner at FRP and joint administrator of Coastal Workboats Scotland Limited, said: “Coastal Workboats Scotland Limited operated in a highly specialised and capital-intensive sector, and faced a combination of technical, commercial and funding challenges.
“Our immediate priority has been to support affected employees, and to maximise realisations from the company’s remaining assets in order to achieve the best possible outcome for creditors.”
FRP added: “The company suffered financial challenges through 2025, in part due to design issues and supply chain delays, which impacted progress on vessel build."
A spokesperson for Stornoway Port said: “The port is aware that our tenant, Coastal Workboats Ltd, has entered administration and we are currently engaging constructively with the appointed administrators.”
An Innovate UK spokesperson said: “Innovate UK is a responsible steward of public funds. Innovation is inherently risky, and new technologies, markets and businesses can fail."
The company specialised in steel landing utility vessels (LUVs) and catamarans for aquaculture and marine work, and recently focused on building the UK’s first electric workboats.
The firm had employed five staff and planned to take on a further 20 to build a range of workboats for aquaculture and other purposes.
Administrators said they had worked with employees to submit claims to the Redundancy Payments Service for outstanding wages, holiday pay, statutory notice pay, and redundancy pay.
Five vessels remain unfinished, including what was intended to be the UK’s first all-electric commercial workboat of its kind.
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