Arriving in Port Askaig, Islay, May 2019. | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name |
|
Namesake | Finlaggan |
Owner | Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited |
Operator | Caledonian MacBrayne |
Port of registry | Glasgow |
Route | Kennacraig - Islay |
Ordered | 2007 |
Builder | Remontowa, Gdansk, Poland |
Cost | £25 million [2] |
Launched | 30 June 2010 |
Completed | 2011 |
Identification |
|
Status | In service |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ro-Ro vehicle and passenger ferry |
Tonnage | |
Length | 89.8 m (295 ft) |
Beam | 16.3 m (53 ft) |
Draught | 3.4 m (11 ft) |
Deck clearance | 5.05 m (16.6 ft) |
Installed power | 2 × Wärtsilä 8L32 (2 × 4,000 kW at 750 rpm) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Capacity |
|
Crew | 34 |
Notes | [5] |
MV Finlaggan (Scottish Gaelic : Fionnlagan) 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 Finlaggan was built in Gdańsk for the Kennacraig - Islay route. Launched on 30 June 2010, [2] she arrived in Scotland in May 2011. During trials, she developed engine problems, forcing cancellation of the inaugural sailing. [6] She had further problems with her bow doors, [7] requiring withdrawal from service for overhaul of her hydraulic systems in Birkenhead. [8] [9]
Finlaggan is of Ro-Ro design with bow and stern ramps. She is the first CalMac ship to have "clam shell" bow doors, which open sideways. [5] The car deck is partially open at the stern and has a mezzanine deck capable of transporting an additional 18 cars. [2]
She has three passenger decks, two with external panoramic seating. There are a restaurant, shop, and two disabled lifts serving all decks. Entering through doors on the car deck, stairs provide access to a lounge with a bar/coffee shop, games room and baggage storage. A further staircase, with a statue in the middle, goes to an upper deck which has the cafeteria, a lounge with dog areas, a children's play area and televisions. [10]
Finlaggan has been the main ferry on the Kennacraig – Islay route since her introduction in 2011, partnering MV Hebridean Isles until the latter’s retirement in 2024. She replaced MV Isle of Arran, which moved back to Arran as the second vessel. During the winter months, Finlaggan often relieves on the Uig Triangle, such as for MV Hebrides ' overhaul in 2013 and 2015. [2] [11]
Finlaggan is due to be replaced on the Islay route by two new identical vessels currently being built in Cemre Shipyard, Turkey at the cost of £91 million. [12] The first vessel, MV Isle of Islay, is expected to be delivered in early 2025, and the second, MV Loch Indaal, later in 2025; both entering service after sea trials and crew familiarisation. [13] Finlaggan is expected to be cascaded elsewhere in the network once her replacement arrives, however the route is still to be confirmed. [14]
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 Caledonian Isles, usually referred to locally as Caley Isles, is one of the largest ships operated by Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), which runs ferries to the Hebridean and Clyde Islands of Scotland. Caledonian Isles serves the Isle of Arran on the Ardrossan to Brodick route. As its CalMac's busiest route, Caledonian Isles has the largest passenger capacity in the fleet, and can carry up to 1000 passengers and 110 cars, with a crossing time of 55 minutes. She is used extensively by day-trippers to the Isle of Arran during the summer.
MV Isle of Lewis is a ro-ro ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne between Oban and Castlebay, Barra. Built in 1995, she remains one of only two ships in the CalMac fleet over 100 metres (328 ft) in length; the other, Loch Seaforth, being longer by almost 15 metres.
The Caledonian MacBrayne fleet is the largest fleet of car and passenger ferries in the United Kingdom, with 35 ferries in operation, with one, MV Glen Sannox, currently undergoing crew familiarisation and harbour berthing trials ahead of being introduced into service. A further 5 vessels are currently under construction for the fleet. The company provides lifeline services to 23 islands off the west coast of Scotland, as well as operating routes in the Firth of Clyde.
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 Hebrides is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne from Uig to Lochmaddy and Tarbert, the main settlements of North Uist and Harris respectively.
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 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.
West Loch Tarbert is a long, narrow sea loch on the western side of the Kintyre Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland.
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 Orion is a ro-ro passenger and vehicle ferry. Saturn was operated by Caledonian MacBrayne in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland between 1978 and 2011, for the first decade of her career on the Rothesay crossing. Later, she also saw service on the Dunoon and Brodick crossings, as well as on short cruises around the Clyde.
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.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited owns the ferries, ports, harbours and infrastructure for the ferry services serving the west coast of Scotland, the Firth of Clyde and the Northern Isles.
MV Sound of Jura was the first drive-through car ferry on the west coast of Scotland. It was operated by Western Ferries on the Islay service from Kennacraig between 1969 and 1976. The Mexican Government operated it to Cozumel as Quintana Roo until 2005, when it was wrecked by Hurricane Wilma.
MV Loch Seaforth is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne between Stornoway and Ullapool. She was launched on 21 March 2014 and entered service in mid-February 2015, replacing both the former vessel, 1995-built MV Isle of Lewis and a chartered freight vessel.
MV Catriona is a diesel electric hybrid passenger and vehicle roll-on, roll-off ferry built for Caledonian MacBrayne for the Claonaig–Lochranza crossing. She is the third hybrid ferry commissioned and owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets, one of three such ferries in the world to incorporate a low-carbon hybrid system of diesel electric and lithium-ion battery power. The ferries are sea-going and are nearly 46 metres (150 ft) long, accommodating 150 passengers, 23 cars or two HGVs.
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 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. 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. She will operate services on the "Uig Triangle" routes linking Tarbert in Harris and Lochmaddy in North Uist with Uig in Skye.
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.