MV Clansman

Last updated

MV Clansman 2019.jpg
MV Clansman leaving Oban for Coll & Tiree in May 2019.
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Name
Owner Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited
Operator Caledonian MacBrayne
Port of registry Glasgow
Route Oban–Coll/Tiree
Oban–Colonsay
Builder Appledore Shipbuilders, Devon
Launched27 March 1998
Maiden voyage4 July 1998
Identification
Statusin service
Notes [2]
General characteristics
Tonnage5,499 gt
Length99 m (325 ft)
Beam15.8 m (51 ft 10 in)
Draft3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 × MAK 8 M32, Gear Box: 2 - Ulstein 1500 AGSC
  • Bow Thruster: 2 × Electric Ulstein 90TV each 7.0 tf (69 kN) thrust
Speed16.5 kn (30.6 km/h) (service)
Capacity638 passengers, 90 cars
Crew28
Notes [3]

MV Clansman is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne, operating from Oban on the west coast of Scotland.

Contents

History

The present MV Clansman is the fifth vessel to carry the name in the CalMac fleet over the years. The most recent predecessor was the 1964 built hoist loading ferry. Launched on 27 March 1998 at Appledore Shipbuilders in North Devon, [4] she entered service four months later. As the third-largest vessel in the fleet, she brought new levels of capacity and passenger comfort to the routes. The main complaint passengers had was Clansman's lack of open deckspace. The design of the ship was such that exterior areas for passengers came at a premium. Calmac remedied this problem by adding an extension above the area aft of the bar during her annual overhaul in 2003. [3]

Clansman has an almost identical sister ship, MV Hebrides, built in 2000 to a similar specification.

Layout

A cafeteria is situated at the bow, with an observation lounge directly above. Aft are a series of lounges, along with the shop and bar. Above is crew accommodation and a relatively small amount of open deck space. She lacks a forward deck. [3]

The car deck has room for approximately 90 cars and has a mezzanine deck on the starboard side, which can be raised or lowered to allow loading of up to 10 additional cars.

The upper deck was extended aft to allow for more open deck space and some deck space sheltered from the elements.

The ship has a Fast Rescue Craft, with liferafts situated behind the bridge. During her 2018 overhaul, the lifeboats located abreast of the funnel were removed, with new liferafts being installed in their place. One of the old lifeboats was sold to Arctic explorers who are planning on sailing it to Tromso, Norway.[ citation needed ]

Service

Designed specifically for the Oban – Castlebay / Lochboisdale and Oban – Coll / Tiree services, Clansman replaced MV Lord of the Isles. At 99 m (325 ft) in length, she is the largest vessel that can safely navigate the numerous channels on her routes. She was, however, too large to call at Tobermory, which was dropped from the Coll/Tiree sailings on her introduction. [3]

Each winter since her introduction, Clansman has relieved the larger Calmac units for their annual refit, leaving the route she was built for with Lord of the Isles. She has seen service at Lewis, Uig, Mull and Arran. [3]

A breakdown on 17 June 2010 took Clansman out of service for crankshaft repairs and problems found during reassembly of the engine resulted in an extended disruption to services. CalMac tried to arrange a replacement vessel, but none could be found for lease. [5] Out of action for six weeks, Clansman returned to service later in the summer and ran extra services in August for the Barra Fest music festival. However, she broke down again en route to Barra after the port engine developed a fault. Repair was effected quickly, but the event caused further disruption at the busiest time of the year. [6]

Since April 2016, Clansman serves Coll, Tiree and Colonsay from Oban, with MV Isle of Lewis operating a daily dedicated service to Castlebay and MV Lord of the Isles serving Lochboisdale from Mallaig, ending South Uist's direct link with Oban.[ citation needed ] From 30 September to 17 October 2016, Clansman relieved on the Uig triangle in place of MV Hebrides after the latter was sent to dry dock to repair damage sustained in a collision in Lochmaddy Harbour. [7]

In February 2018, Clansman carried out berthing trials at the new Brodick ferry terminal and Troon before taking over the Ardrossan-Brodick ferry crossing while MV Caledonian Isles undertook berthing trials at Troon.[ citation needed ] After the berthing trials, Clansman went to the Garvel dry dock at the James Watt Dock in Greenock for her annual overhaul. While berthing there, she clipped a bank and severely damaged a propeller and prop-shaft. The damage meant that the overhaul took significantly longer than planned, delaying the overhaul of MV Hebrides. Parts of the propulsion system were sent to a specialist firm in Denmark [8] and new propeller blades were made from scratch.[ citation needed ] From February to May 2018, Clansman's routes were operated by MV Lord of the Isles. Temporary repairs were effected allowing Clansman to cover the overhaul of Hebrides, relieving on the Uig triangle. [9] After returning briefly to Oban for a fortnight, Clansman returned to Garvel dry-dock at Greenock on 2 June for the repairs to be completed. She returned to service at Oban on 9 June. [10]

During Clansman's annual overhaul in February 2022, unexpected corrosion was found to steelwork on board leading to the replacement of fifty square metres of steel. This severely delayed Clansman's return to service, which had major knock-on effects across the rest of the fleet, including delaying the overhaul of Hebrides. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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MV <i>Isle of Mull</i>

MV Isle of Mull is one of the larger ferries operated by Caledonian MacBrayne from Oban on the west of Scotland.

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MV <i>Hebridean Isles</i>

MV Hebridean Isles is a ro-ro vehicle ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne on the west coast of Scotland. She was the first MacBrayne vessel to be ordered and built for them outside Scotland and the first to be launched sideways. With bow, stern and side ramps, Hebridean Isles is suitable for all the routes served by the large fleet units. After 15 years crossing the Little Minch on the Uig triangle, she now serves Islay and Colonsay.

MV <i>Isle of Arran</i> Scottish ferry

MV Isle of Arran is a drive-through ferry operated on the west coast of Scotland by Caledonian MacBrayne. Entering service in 1984, she served on the Arran route for nine years before being moved to Kennacraig. She returned to her original route in 2012, supplementing MV Caledonian Isles in summer and becoming a relief vessel in winter. In 2013, she started a new pilot route from Ardrossan to Campbeltown, which became a permanent fixture in 2015. As of 2023, she is one of the oldest vessels in the fleet, having been in service for 40 years; upon arriving into Oban in the West Highlands, celebrations were mounted ashore to mark the 40th anniversary of her launch and service on 2 December 2023.

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References

  1. ↑ "MV Clansman". Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. ↑ "Clansman". Appledore Shipbuiders. Archived from the original on 6 March 2001. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Clansman (V)". Ships of Calmac. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. ↑ "MV Clansman". Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  5. ↑ Ross, David (20 July 2010). "Services disrupted one month after ferry breakdown". The Herald . Glasgow. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  6. ↑ Stewart, Catriona (2 August 2010). "Ferry firm runs flat out to catch up after Clansman breaks down again". The Herald . Glasgow. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "Changes to CalMac services after ferry is damaged in Lochmaddy". West Highland Free Press. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "CalMac ferry MV Clansman returns to service". BBC News. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "MV Clansman returns to service". CalMac. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "MV Clansman returns to service". CalMac. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  11. ↑ "Customer Update: Information on delays within our annual overhaul schedule and how this will affect our service". CalMac. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
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