CMAL
The first of four new CalMac ferries being built by a Turkish shipyard – MV Isle of Islay – has been formally handed over.
The new ship has now been passed by UK regulators and is expected to begin the two-week journey to Scotland next week.
Ferry operator CalMac will then need to carry out crew familiarisation and berthing trials so it is likely to be early spring when the ship enters service.
The vessel, which can carry 450 passengers and 100 cars or 14 HGVs, will serve Islay and Jura.
A ceremony was held at the Cemre shipyard at Yavlova to mark the transfer of ownership of the ship to Scottish-government owned ferries body CMAL, which then leases it to CalMac.
The ship was originally due for delivery in October 2024 but a series of delays have been blamed on labour shortages and supply chain difficulties.
CMAL
MV Isle of Islay is the first of four new CalMac ferries built at the Cemre shipyard
A second vessel for the Islay route, MV Loch Indaal, is due for delivery in six months’ time while work is progressing on a further two ferries destined for the Little Minch, serving North Uist and Harris.
CalMac, the UK’s largest ferry operator, has at times struggled to maintain services in recent years due an increasingly unreliable fleet with around half the major vessels beyond their expected service life.
Opposition politicians have blamed that on poor stewardship by the Scottish government but Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the new ship marked a “milestone” in the improvement in lifeline services.
“Full focus is now on preparing the vessel for entry into service for the benefit of our island communities and businesses as soon as possible,” she said.
CMAL chief executive Kevin Hobbs added: “Taking ownership of the MV Isle of Islay marks a great step forward in our plan to rejuvenate the Scottish ferry fleet.”
Disabled access restored on Arran route
CalMac’s west coast fleet services remain stretched this winter due to repairs and scheduled overhauls, meaning fewer large ferries are available.
Earlier this week the main Arran route was reduced to a single vessel service using the chartered catamaran MV Alfred because two large vessels, MV Glen Sannox and MV Caledonian Isles are away for maintenance for the rest of the month.
The lift on Alfred is currently broken, meaning some disabled passengers had to stay in their cars or in a minibus on the car deck during the 90-minute crossing between Troon and Brodick.
CalMac said its monitoring showed these arrangements did not “provide the standard of access and experience we expect customers to have”, so it is now redeploying a second vessel to the route.
It said MV Isle of Arran would join MV Alfred from Friday as a temporary measure until the lift is repaired.
A spokeswoman said: “This will cause disruption on some routes, and we apologise to those impacted.
“However, all islands will continue to be served by a vessel, and our capacity analysis indicates that customers can continue to travel as and when they need to across the network.”