MV Claymore (2024)

Last updated
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameClaymore
NamesakeFrom the Gaelic claidheamh mòr, meaning "great sword"; also a name previously given to vessels serving the Hebrides
Owner Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited
Operator Caledonian MacBrayne
Port of registry Glasgow
Route Uig – Tarbert & Lochmaddy
OrderedJanuary 2023
Builder Cemre Shipyard, Turkey
Cost £115 million for 2 ferries [1]
Yard numberNB1100 [2]
Laid downSeptember 2023 [3]
LaunchedTBC
StatusUnder construction
General characteristics
Type Ro-Ro vehicle and passenger ferry
Tonnage Deadweight: 750
Displacement3830
Length94.8 m (311 ft)
Beam18.7 m (61 ft)
Draught4 m (13 ft)
Deck clearance5.1
Propulsion
Speed16.5 Knots (service)
Capacity
  • 450 passengers
  • 100 cars or
  • 14 HGVs
Crew
  • 27 crew
  • 27 crew cabins + 4 trainee cabins

MV Claymore is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger ferry currently under construction for use on Caledonian MacBrayne routes on the west coast of Scotland. [4] She is the third of four ferries being built at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, and is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2025. [5] She will operate services on the "Uig Triangle" routes linking Tarbert in Harris and Lochmaddy in North Uist with Uig in Skye. [1]

Contents

History

A contract to build two ferries, MV Isle of Islay and MV Loch Indaal, for the Islay service was awarded to Cemre Shipyard in March 2022. [6] A £115M contract for two further ferries of a very similar design to be used on CalMac's Skye, Harris and North Uist services was awarded to Cemre Shipyard in January 2023. [7] [8]

On 30 November 2023, a public competition was launched to name the two Uig Triangle vessels, with the following options available for the first:

On 19 December, it was announced that Claymore had been selected as the vessel's name. [4]

Layout and facilities

Claymore will be able to carry 450 passengers, accommodating 100 cars or 14 HGVs on a partially-open vehicle deck. She will have two mezzanine car decks, one being a single lane and the other having two lanes. The lower vehicle deck will accommodate either five lanes of cars or four lanes of commercial vehicles. A single catering outlet, serving hot and cold food and drinks, will be provided on Deck 6. A children's play area will be provided on Deck 5. [9]

As is usual for CalMac major vessels, crew will sleep on board. Claymore will have 31 cabins, allowing for 4 spare cabins for training purposes, with the normal crew complement being 27. [9]

Service

Claymore and her sister ship MV Lochmor will serve on the "Uig Triangle" routes, linking Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist with Uig on Skye. The two vessels will replace the duty of a single vessel, currently MV Hebrides, providing an increase in vehicle and freight capacity on these routes, whilst enhancing the overall resilience of the wider fleet. [3] Originally, it was intended that MV Glen Rosa would serve these routes, however Glen Rosa will now serve the Isle of Arran alongside her sister ship, MV Glen Sannox, on the Ardrossan to Brodick route. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caledonian MacBrayne</span> Ferry operator in Scotland

Caledonian MacBrayne, in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsidiary of holding company David MacBrayne, which is owned by the Scottish Government.

MV <i>Isle of Lewis</i>

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MV <i>Clansman</i>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caledonian MacBrayne fleet</span> List of ferries operated by Caledonian MacBrayne in Scotland

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MV <i>Lord of the Isles</i> Scottish ferry launched 1989

MV Lord of the Isles is one of the larger Caledonian MacBrayne vessels, and operates from Mallaig on the west of Scotland. Built in Port Glasgow, she is the most-travelled vessel in the CalMac fleet.

MV <i>Hebrides</i> Scottish ferry

MV Hebrides is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne from Uig to Lochmaddy and Tarbert, the main settlements of North Uist and Harris respectively.

MV <i>Hebridean Isles</i> Ship built in 1985

MV Hebridean Isles was a ro-ro vehicle ferry that was 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 was suitable for all the routes served by the large fleet units. After 15 years crossing the Little Minch on the Uig triangle, she served Islay and Colonsay before being retired in November 2024, after almost 40 years of service.

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. Also known by her local nicknames IOA and The Auld Trooper, she entered service in 1984 on the Ardrossan to Brodick route, serving Arran 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 for Arran in winter as well as other routes where required. 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.

MV <i>Pioneer</i> (1974)

MV Pioneer is a stern / side loading ferry built in 1974, in service for 29 years covering nearly all of Caledonian MacBrayne's routes. She now serves the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea and was chartered to rescue Liberian refugees.

MV <i>Isle of Cumbrae</i>

MV Isle of Cumbrae is a Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited ro-ro car ferry, built in 1976 and operated by Caledonian MacBrayne. For ten years she was at Largs and operated the Loch Fyne crossing from 1999 to 2014. She was replaced by the MV Lochinvar in 2014, a new diesel-electric hybrid ferry capable of holding 23 cars and 150 passengers. She returned to Tarbert in 2016 after MV Lochinvar was moved to the Mallaig - Armadale station. As of 2024, she is the oldest vessel in the CalMac fleet.

MV <i>Finlaggan</i>

MV Finlaggan is a drive-through vehicle and passenger ferry built in Poland for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited. From 2011, she has been operated by Caledonian MacBrayne on the Islay service from Kennacraig.

MV <i>Hebrides</i> (1963)

MV Hebrides was the first of a trio of hoist-loading car ferries built for David MacBrayne Ltd in 1964 and operated on the Uig, Skye to Tarbert and Lochmaddy route in Scotland for over twenty years. She is the only Calmac vessel to have crossed the Atlantic. In later years, as Illyria she sailed between Italy and Albania.

MV Lochmor was the David MacBrayne Ltd Outer Isles mail steamer from 1930 until 1964. She was superseded by a new generation of car ferries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David MacBrayne</span> Government-owned Scottish Ferry holding company

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MV <i>Loch Seaforth</i> (2014) Scottish ferry which entered service in 2015

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MV <i>Glen Rosa</i> Ferry under construction

MV Glen Rosa is a car and passenger ferry, the second of two major vessels constructed at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow for the Scottish Government asset company CMAL to lease to its ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne. Originally planned for Uig based services, she will serve Arran. Both ships are to be dual-fuel, capable of operating on either marine gas oil, or LNG which offers a marked reduction in sulphur, nitrous oxide and carbon emissions. The ship's name was chosen from a shortlist by public ballot on 30 August 2023. She is currently expected to be delivered in September 2025.

MV Isle of Islay is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger ferry being constructed for use by Caledonian MacBrayne on routes on the west coast of Scotland. She is the first of four ferries being built in Turkey for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, and is expected to be delivered in early 2025 for service on routes linking Islay with Kennacraig on the mainland.

MV Loch Indaal is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger ferry being constructed for use by Caledonian MacBrayne on routes on the west coast of Scotland. She is the second of four ferries being built at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, and is expected to be delivered in 2025 for service on routes linking Islay with Kennacraig on the mainland. She is named for the sea loch of Loch Indaal, which lies on the west coast of Islay. The loch is well known as the inspiration for the folk song "The Lights of Lochindaal" by Iain Simpson.

MV Lochmor is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger ferry currently under construction for use on Caledonian MacBrayne routes on the west coast of Scotland. She is the fourth of four ferries being built at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, and is expected to be delivered in the final quarter of 2025. She will operate services on the "Uig Triangle" routes linking Tarbert in Harris and Lochmaddy in North Uist with Uig in Skye.

References

  1. 1 2 "Two New Vessels for the Little Minch". Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Preference for Green Renewal of New CMAL vessels is Cemre Shipyard once Again!". Cemre Shipyard. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Little Minch ferries reach major construction milestones". Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Names chosen for new Western Isles ferries". BBC News. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Kevin Hobbs (CMAL) (30 September 2024). "Update on New Vessels for Islay & Little Minch" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "Two New Ferries for Islay Reach Next Construction Milestone". Caledonian MacBrayne. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Names announced for new Islay and Jura ferries". BBC News. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Contract Finalised for Two New Ferries for The Little Minch". Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Information on New Vessels" (PDF). Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Competition Launched to Name Dual Fuel Ferry". Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL). 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
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