The Ships of CalMac website (www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk) was founded in 2001 by a group of Caledonian MacBrayne enthusiasts. Well known for it’s up to date news reports, the website is now publishing it’s own calendar.

The Ships of CalMac Calendar features a picture of ISLE OF MULL on the front cover and is available through the website at a cost of £5.95 although a few copies may be available from the Clyde River Steamer Club.

Duncan Wilson.

 

PENTALINA B (ex Caledonian MacBrayne vessel IONA) was inspected at Dunkerque on 18^th December and was found to have eleven deficiencies, mainly in safety equipment. None of them were bad enough for the ship to be detained.

The owners were given fourteen days to rectify these deficiencies. She was therefore in port at Aberdeen between Sunday 24^th and Saturday 30^th December. Minor work was carried out when she returned to St Margaret’s Hope.

After the New Year period, she returned to Dover for the Farmers Ferry charter.

Her fleetmate, CLAYMORE, was operating on the Pentland Firth route but was limited to twelve passengers.

Source: Scotships.

 

The weather, so far this year, has been characterised by strong winds and severe tidal conditions causing extensive disruption to every route operated by Caledonian MacBrayne from Gourock to Stornoway. In fact there has been hardly a single day, which has not seen some sort of disruption to ferry services. 

 On January 3^rd the Tayinloan – Gigha (LOCH LINNHE) service was disrupted once again by debris caused by the bad weather. The service operated from Kennacraig with restricted numbers.

CLANSMAN arrived in Ardrossan on Sunday 7^th to relieve CALEDONIAN ISLES for her refit in Aberdeen.

LOCH ALAINN departed from Troon, where she was dry-docked for repairs, and headed to Largs where she relieved ISLE OF CUMBRAE at 1545. ISLE OF CUMBRAE then headed over to Rothesay where she will be slipped at Ardmaleish possibly beside LOCH RANZA.

In spite of an inspection by divers the problems at Tayinloan the service was still operating from Kennacraig on Monday 8^th. However by Wednesday normal service had resumed.

On the 0800 run from Craignure on Friday 12^th, as ISLE OF MULL headed through the Lighthouse and Lady Rock Marker where three tides meet, she was hit by a heavy swell, which together with the force of the tides, caused her to list to starboard. (Apparently the Port stabiliser was seen above the water). As a result she lost two inflatable liferafts positioned below the funnel. The ramp, on which the liferafts stay, was wedged in to prevent anymore from rolling away. An attempt to retrieve the liferafts by EIGG was aborted. 

The following day she was sailing as normal as her passenger numbers are restricted during the winter. There was no sign of her being detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as a result of losing the two liferafts the previous day.  She was, however, running up to an hour late as her second engine was shut down and possibly damaged.

LOCH TARBERT took up the Gigha run for the first time ever on Sunday 14^th. However she was diverted to Kennacraig due to the weather. LOCH LINNHE sailed to Tobermory where she relieved RAASAY, which sailed to Corpach for her overhaul. She broke down briefly on the previous day but was quickly back in service.

The inflatable liferafts, lost from ISLE OF MULL were found at Tralee Bay near Benderloch north of Oban on Tuesday 16^th. They were refitted on Friday 19^th. The cradle and other liferafts had already been taken away and checked.

 Source: The Oban Times/ Ships of CalMac www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk

 

EIGG will not be relieving the Argyll and Bute Council ferry on the Port Askaig – Feolin Ferry route this year. The Mull based MARGARET SINCLAIR will be carrying out this roster for a period of a few weeks subject to some modifications to her ramp, which may be enlarged. This work will be done at Noble’s Yard in Girvan where she was built. It is unknown if she will be given a certificate for more than twelve passengers. For a picture go to www.glenlight.co.uk

Source: Scotships.

 

Red distress flares were fired from the shore in Tobermory on Sunday 14^th to celebrate the arrival of a new fishing vessel.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is investigating the incident and remind seafarers and the public that misuse of a distress flare is a criminal offence.

Source: The Oban Times.

 

One of Mallaig’s top tourist attractions, Mallaig Marine World, has been forced to close after fourteen years because of irreparable structural damage.

Owners Ross and Frankie Campbell had hoped to re-open the centre’s aquarium and fishing exhibition following the sudden collapse of a ceiling in May 2006 when the centre was closed pending damage assessment.

However they have now announced that the centre will not re-open. The marine exhibits have been released back into the sea.

The couple thanked the many people who visited the centre and supported it over the past fourteen years.

Source: The Oban Times.

 

Islanders, who have long been dissatisfied with the current CalMac service which they feel is too slow and restrictive, met in Castlebay Hall to hear a talk by Alf Baird, Professor of Transportation at Napier University.

Prof Baird specialises in ferry transport, and told his audience that the latest developments in catamaran technology meant that a purpose-built craft moving at 35 knots could cover the Barra to Oban run in two-and-a-half hours, as opposed to the current four-and-half to seven hours, meaning that twice-daily runs would be possible for the Uist-Barra-Oban route in summer, and daily runs in winter.

In his estimation, such a ferry would run for 75% of the time with no problem, 20% when it would be rough but sail anyway, and five% when it would be cancelled, provided the ferry was designed for the conditions encountered on the route. This would compare very favourably with the current three-times-a week winter service.

He assured his audience that although catamarans had originally suffered teething problems when they were first introduced as ferries 20 years ago, technology had advanced so much that catamarans and tri-marans are now the first consideration for ferry companies around the rest of the world. He cited forthcoming moves to replace the ex MacBrayne’s ferry CLAYMORE which plies The Pentland Firth with a catamaran. Prof Baird also said that running costs would be lower for a 35-knot vessel, with the possibility of more sailings, more carryings per sailings and ultimately less Government subsidy.

Barra’s transportation committee retiring Chairman, Peter Brown, said that islanders had been “shocked” by Prof Baird’s message.

He said “ Prof Baird said that CalMac were one of the very few ferry operators in the world not to look around them and see what technological advances were being made.

They continue to commission ships with conventional 1950s-style hulls, and usually they are designed to be able to operate on a number of different routes instead of being purpose-built for the demands of a particular route.

When Prof Baird told us that a 35-knot catamaran with all those advantages was possible, our eyes were opened.

It was agreed that we want it, but it has to be a political decision made in Edinburgh. We have to campaign there with a very simple message”.

CalMac spokesman Hugh Dan MacLennan said: “ Prof Baird is welcome to his opinion, which is interesting in light of the gale-force winds we have had in the past 10 weeks and the hurricane-force winds that affected our service between Uist and Skye today”.

Source: Clydesite/Aberdeen Press and Journal.

 

21/01/07.

 

 

LOCH TARBERT arrived at Rothesay on Sunday night at 1900. She was slipped at Ardmaleish on today (22/01) at 1345.

ISLE OF ARRAN is still at the wires at Gourock.

Many thanks to Iain McPherson for the information.

 

IONA was launched from the Ailsa Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Troon on Thursday 22^nd January 1970. She was the seventh ship to bear the name and the last ship built for David MacBrayne, Ltd. Her Yard Number was 530.

Although she attained a speed of 17.51 knots on her trials, she had a service speed of 15 knots and a gross tonnage of 1,324.

She was fitted with Denny-Brown stabilisers and a controllable pitch bow-thrust propeller. The engines could be controlled from either the engine room, in the wheelhouse or on the bridge wings.

IONA was the first ship built with a rollon-rolloff design in the MacBrayne fleet although she was equipped with a hoist for piers, which did not have a linkspan. She had a dummy funnel on top of the bridge and two exhausts at the stern. They were later extended higher when she was re-painted in Caledonian MacBrayne livery and the dummy funnel was removed. Her foremast was perched in front of the bridge. She could carry up to forty-seven cars and 581 passengers.

The lounge and cafeteria were situated on the Boat Deck while the bar was below the Car Deck.

IONA was built for the Islay service in response to Western Ferries who established a ferry service to Islay from a new terminal at Kennacraig. The new service prospered at the expense of MacBrayne’s. They were still operating from the existing steamer pier at West Loch Tarbert using LOCHEIL (1939).

In 1968 permission was given for the construction of a new terminal at Redhouse down the loch from Kennacraig, from which IONA would operate MacBrayne’s service to Islay. However, after much haggling and consternation, in January 1969 Argyll County Council decided not to proceed with the construction of a new terminal at Redhouse giving as their excuse costs and difficulties with over land acquisition.

The new vessel therefore would not be operating from Redhouse and was unsuitable for service from the West Loch pier. She was chartered to the Caledonian Steam Packet Company for the Gourock – Dunoon route. Her dummy funnel was painted yellow and black. In turn ARRAN (1953), re-painted in MacBrayne colours, made her way round the Mull of Kintyre and took her place on the Islay run. In doing so she re-claimed some traffic back from Western Ferries.

After the formation of Caledonian MacBrayne on 1^st January 1973 IONA served on all the main ferry routes on the west coast the first of which was the Mallaig – Kyle of Lochalsh – Stornoway route where she replaced LOCH SEAFORTH (1947). After one year she opened the new service between Ullapool and Stornoway.

Passenger cabins were built on the Bridge Deck for the over-night services from Oban to Barra and Lochboisdale where she worked from 1974-78.

In 1978 IONA moved to the Islay route for the first time, this being the route for which she was intended in 1970.

 She ended her career on the Mallaig – Armadale route before being with drawn from service in 1997. During this time she carried out the short-lived Sunday service from Mallaig to Armadale and from there to Tobermory, Coll and Tiree returning to Mallaig. She also pioneered the Mallaig – Castlebay – Lochboisdale service, which may be revived in the not too far future under the present tendering process.

IONA was sold to Pentland Ferries and re-named PENTALINA B for a new service between Gills Bay, Caithness and St Margaret’s Hope, Orkney where she is still in service.

IONA is featured on the March page of the 2007 Club calendar.

Photograph: The Late Hamish Stewart, Club President 1998-2000.

Source: Ships of CalMac/Iain McCrorie-Royal Road to the Isles/Duckworth and Langmuir-Clyde River and Other Steamers.

 

22/01/07.

 

 

The first Club meeting of the New Year was on Friday 26^th January. Club and Committee member Alistair Deayton gave a talk and slide presentation entitled  “Amongst the Centenarians-Steamer Spotting in Scandinavia”.

Last summer Alistair travelled through Norway, Sweden and Finland photographing and recording various ships, all of which were a minimum of 100 years old.

Although some of the ships had been converted to diesel propulsion many were still powered by steam. Some were in working order, some were used as restaurants and others were under reconstruction with an intention of returning the ships to full working order.

It is remarkable to find so many old ships still in existence in Scandinavia both in working order and in static use while in Scotland such preservation schemes rarely seem to bear any fruit.

Alistair also took the opportunity to show slides of the many ferries, which ply between Stockholm and Turku, Helsinki, Riga and Tallin. In addition he showed slides of some of the cruise liners calling at the Baltic ports. As he said they were not built with aesthetics in mind more for the comfort of the passengers.

Robin Love gave the vote of thanks.

The next meeting is on Friday February 23^rd when the speaker will be Mr Norman Brown, Project Manager, New Construction, Caledonian MacBrayne. His presentation is entitled “ What Drives CalMac”.

All meetings are held in the Kirk Lounge, Renfield St Stephens Church Hall, Bath Street, Glasgow starting at 1930.

Duncan Wilson.

 

An interesting feature about David MacBrayne has been published in this week’s Oban Times (Thursday 25^th).

LORD OF THE ISLES did not depart from Oban until 0835 on Thursday 25^th. She has sustained damage to her bow visor due to the pounding of the waves during the run of recent bad weather. At 0635 she was berthed bow first at the linkspan then at 0735 she turned and berthed stern first then at 0835 she turned again but immediately departed for Coll and Tiree. Passengers were advised that the 1530 Outer Isles service would be running two hours late. LORD OF THE ISLES will not be using her bow visor for the immediate future.

CLANSMAN departed from Ardrossan at 2000. LOCH DUNVEGAN had technical problems on the Colintraive – Rhubodach route.

On Friday CLANSMAN dropped off the gangways she was using at Ardrossan and Brodick at Castlebay and Coll respectively. She then carried on up to Stornoway where she relieved ISLE OF LEWIS. She is expected at Birkenhead on Monday 29^th.

Also on Friday ISLE OF CUMBRAE took over from LOCH ALAINN at Largs. She is heading north for trials on the Ardmhor – Eriskay route where she may displace LOCH BRHUSDA.

CLANSMAN is due at Birkenhead for her overhaul on February 19^th.

ISLE OF ARRAN is expected to leave Gourock in the near future to relieve HEBRIDEAN ISLES on the Islay route. She is going to Scrabster to relieve HAMNAVOE, which is going to Frederikshavn, Denmark for her overhaul. 

It is believed that a CalMac vessel stayed over-night at the West Loch Tarbert Pier recently probably because she could not berth at Kennacraig. This is the first time a company vessel has used the West Loch pier since moving to Kennacraig in 1978.

The name of the vessel is not known at the present time. She would have arrived and departed during the hours of darkness.

Fairlie Pier is expected to be used as a lay-up berth again over the winter period.

In addition to making her maiden call at Inverie, WAVERLEY has been given clearance to call, for the first time, at Colonsay when she sails to the Western Isles next spring.

The Knoydart Foundation, owners of Knoydart Estate, is very keen to see WAVERLEY call at the newly built Inverie Pier. The L-shaped pier is of a solid concrete construction with a slipway on the east side unlike the new piers at Rum, Eigg and Muck, which are basically a series of dolphins with a walk-way on top.

LOCH NEVIS called at Inverie Pier on Thursday 24^th August 2006 when Transport Minister Tavish Scott opened the pier.

Regular calls by Caledonian MacBrayne are not expected in the near future, as Inverie is not included in the tendering process.

Inverie is looking forward to welcoming the cruise ship HEBRIDEAN PRINCESS during the course of 2007. She is also expected to call at Raasay at some point in the future.

Something to look forward to in spring 2008 is the re-opening of Raasay Pier mainly for timber traffic. However the owners of the pier are very keen to see WAVERLEY perform the re-opening ceremony. The pier will face an extensive re-construction between now and then.

Source: Ships of CalMac/Ian McCrorie-Royal Road to the Isles.

Further information from Robin Love, Iain McPherson and Iain Quinn.

 

Twenty-eight members of the Rotary Club, some accompanied by their wives, recently enjoyed a guided tour of the new Caledonian MacBrayne ferry terminal at Oban, conducted by Regional Manager Ian Fox.

Mr Fox pointed out the advantages that will benefit passengers once the second linkspan is completed. Not only will the terminal be much more comfortable, but passengers will be able to proceed directly from the terminal building straight onto the ferry via a passenger walkway from what is essentially a departure lounge.

The company is now much more than just a ferry operator and can organise tours and visits to many of the Outer Isles.

Following a splendid finger buffet, Mr Fox then presented an illustrated history of CalMac tracing its evolution from the services operated by David Hutcheson and Company, a partnership consisting of David, his brother and one David MacBrayne. Following the retirement of the Hutchesons, David MacBrayne carried on the firm in his own name continuing to work right up to the ripe old age of ninety-one. Initially travelling up and down the West of Scotland was much easier by boat, but, with the huge increase in roads throughout the region as a result of the two World Wars, many of the shipping routes disappeared. David MacBrayne died 100 years ago this month and the organisation, which has seen many ups and downs, is now facing its greatest challenge – to survive the tendering process insisted on by the EU.

Mr Fox was thanked for his fascinating talk by the club’s president, Graham MacQueen.

Source: The Oban Times.

 

27/01/07.

 

 

The coach carrying the Clyde River Steamer Club party on Saturday 27^th hit a snag as the weight of the coach grounded LOCH RIDDON at Portavadie. The coach itself grounded on the slipway at Tarbert.

The CRSC party were on their way to Kennacraig where they boarded HEBRIDEAN ISLES for a return trip to Port Ellen.

The crew of HEBRIDEAN ISLES conducted fire fighting and lifeboat drills at 1550 on Saturday. They conducted an exercise on the car deck using fire-fighting equipment. The lifeboats were lowered six feet and raised again.

ISLE OF ARRAN leaves for Kennacraig on Tuesday.

The changeover between ISLE OF CUMBRAE and LOCH ALAINN did not go ahead on Sunday. ISLE OF CUMBRAE was still in Rothesay. However LOCH ALAINN is due at the Sound of Barra on Wednesday night (31/1).

RAASAY was at Tayinloan but is now on the way to Tobermory.

ISLE OF MULL unusually berthed stern first at Oban on Sunday night.

Source: Ships of CalMac www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk

 

It was announced this afternoon that Caledonian MacBrayne has emerged as the sole bidder in the competition to run the Clyde and Hebridean ferry services.

VShips, the only private company left in the bidding process, has withdrawn.

Isle of Man based VShips said the tender details were too restrictive to allow them to provide more efficient services on the routes.

Source: BBC Scotland News   

 

CalMac Ferries Ltd, operator of the Clyde and Hebridean lifeline ferry services, has issued the following statement following confirmation that the Company is now the sole bidder in the tender exercise for Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Services (CHFS).

 

CalMac Ferries’ Chairman Peter Timms has, this afternoon, issued the following message to CalMac staff:    “You may be aware that V-ships have today withdrawn from the tendering exercise for Clyde and Hebridean ferry services. The future of the tendering process is entirely a matter for the Scottish Executive. They have already assured us that they will be pressing ahead with the tendering process. While that remains the case, I have to stress that we will still have to produce a robust bid, which will convince the Executive that we are the company best placed to deliver lifeline ferry services.  Today's announcement by V ships alters nothing as far as CalMac Ferries is concerned, nor any of our other companies. Please be assured that a lot of very hard work remains to be done and that we will have to produce a compliant and properly costed bid.”

Source: Caledonian MacBrayne. www.calmac.co.uk

 

CalMac Ferries Ltd, operator of the Clyde and Hebridean lifeline ferry services, is embarking on a fortnight-long period of meetings with stakeholders to inform their bid preparation for the current tendering exercise.

 

Over the two weeks beginning Monday, February 5, senior CalMac staff will meet a wide range of organizations and community interests from Arran to Stornoway in order to discuss the implications of the contents of the Invitation To Tender, which the company has received in relation to the Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Services. Meetings with staff on shore and at sea will also form a key part of the company’s information gathering process, and the meetings will also be used to explain to community councils, local authorities and ferry users’ groups how the ferry services will be operated from October 2007.

 

CalMac Ferries’ Managing Director Lawrie Sinclair, said: “We are moving into a new era in terms of operating the west coast ferry services, and it is important that everyone is fully informed about the nature of the contracts which will be in place, and the obligations they place on the operator. The Invitation To Tender (ITT) spells out clearly how it is intended that the system will work and who will pay for what. It also, crucially, explains what levels of service we must provide and the services for which we will be paid. We will meet as many groups as possible in as many locations as we can fit in within this period. Beyond that, we are also meeting with key agencies and parties including the Regional Transport Partnerships, the STUC and our unions, NFUS, and the Scottish Crofting Foundation. We would be pleased to receive representations from anyone who may have a view on what the ITT contains, and we will use all of the information we receive to inform our bid, and to produce a submission which will be in the best interests of the communities we already serve, within the parameters set out in the various contract documents.”

 

Final bids for the tendering exercise are due to be delivered to the Scottish Executive on Friday, May 11, 2007. CalMac Ferries has already met many stakeholders over the last few months in preparation for the bid, and a further meeting of the now disbanded Joint Shipping Services Advisory Committee (SSAC) has been called by CalMac for February 22 to discuss future consultation arrangements.

 

Mr Sinclair added: “We firmly believe that CalMac Ferries is well placed to win this bid and we are confident that we can launch a robust and innovative bid for the services. This will be based on our record of accomplishment and our strengths of having years of experience of operating lifeline services, with dedicated seagoing and shore-based staff. We are now well on the way towards preparing what we believe will be a winning bid, and this series of key meetings is a key part of our effort in a highly demanding timescale.”

 

The Invitation To Tender document is available on the Scottish Executive website:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/12/18100005/0

Source: Caledonian MacBrayne. www.calmac.co.uk 

 

There was dismay in Oban and Stornoway today after it emerged that Caledonian MacBrayne’s headquarters at Gourock Pier is to be re-located in another part of Inverclyde.

There had been calls for the 130 jobs to be transferred to Oban or Stornoway. The building, which has been the ferry company’s home since 1971, could be needed for the Gourock Transport Interchange and Waterfront Regeneration Project. The search for a re-placement site has started and the move is expected within three years.

The proposals include moving the current CalMac Ferries Ltd administrative and technical Support Services function from the current Gourock site, with a port and passenger facility being retained for the operator of the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service. The Gourock linkspan will continue to act as a “safe haven” for diverted services from the islands of Bute and Arran.   

Over the coming months, Network Rail will produce a detailed design for the Transport Interchange in discussion with CalMac Ferries Ltd on their ongoing requirements.

Source: The Herald/Caledonian MacBrayne. www.calmac.co.uk

 

29/01/07.

 

 

ISLE OF ARRAN arrived at Kennacraig this morning (31/01) after spending the night at Port Ellen. She took over the service for the 1300 to Port Ellen. HEBRIDEAN ISLES departed for Stromness at 1400.

LOCH ALAINN arrived at Barra at 1600 this afternoon. She will embark on trials on the Ardmhor – Eriskay route and may displace LOCH BRHUSDA. She can carry twenty-four cars as opposed to eighteen.

ISLE OF MULL is berthed at Craignure this evening.

Source: Ships of CalMac www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk

 

Wednesday 31^st January 2007.