MV Hotspur II was built in 1936 by Rowhedge Ironworks as a passenger ferry for the Hythe Ferry service across Southampton Water. One of the Kenilworth's half-sisters, MVHotspur IV, remained operational with the Hythe Ferry service until 2014. The use of the name Hotspur for several generations of Hythe ferries derives from the involvement, and later ownership, of the ferry service by the Percy family, whose member Hotspur was immortalised by William Shakespeare.[1][4]
In 1978, Hotspur II was bought by Clyde Marine Motoring to operate the Gourock–Kilcreggan service.[3] Arriving on the Clyde on 22 March, she was modified before entering service on 2 April 1979. Renamed Kenilworth, after the novel Kenilworth by Walter Scott, she provided the main ferry service, initially on subcontract to Caledonian MacBrayne and after 1983, on behalf of Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive. Other company vessels (Clyde Marine Services Ltd. from 2003), including The Second Snark and CalMac vessels provided relief.
Along with The Second Snark, Kenilworth was listed in the UK Historic Ship Register from 2001.[3]
Replaced by the purpose-built MVSeabus in 2007,[1] she continued to provide morning and afternoon cruises. In 2009, she was reported to be sold to a new owner in Inverness and was reportedly sold again in 2018 for conversion into a houseboat. Kenilworth is berthed in Hartlepool undergoing restoration
2006 Incident
Setting out from Gourock on 23 October 2006, with naval supply ship Fort George in the background.
At 9.40 am BST on 23 October 2006, a US Navy warship taking part in the Neptune Warrior training exercise radioed the Kenilworth to warn "Unidentified vessel approaching on my starboard side, please identify yourself. If you fail to do so, we will open fire on you with live ammunition." The message caused alarm as it was broadcast on VHF channel 16, the international calling and distress frequency. A spokeswoman at Faslane indicated that channel 16 had been correctly used to request identification, but should not have been used for the warning which should have been on an exercise frequency. She stated that the ferry had not been in any danger, and advised that the organiser of the exercise, Commander Don Chalmers, deputy director of the Joint Maritime Operational Training Staff, had apologised to the skipper.[5]
Layout
There is covered passenger accommodation on two decks forward, with a bar in the lower saloon.
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles. The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula, which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. Within the Firth of Clyde is another major island – the Isle of Bute. Given its strategic location at the entrance to the middle and upper Clyde, Bute played a vital naval military role during World War II.
Caledonian MacBrayne, usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast. Since 2006 the company's official name has been CalMac Ferries Ltd although it still operates as Caledonian MacBrayne. In 2006 it also became a subsidiary of holding company David MacBrayne, which is owned by the Scottish Government.
Kilcreggan is a village on the Rosneath peninsula in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland.
MV The Second Snark is a small passenger ferry, built in 1938 by William Denny of Dumbarton, later operated by Clyde Marine Services on the Firth of Clyde, Scotland.
Hythe Pier, the Hythe Pier Railway and the Hythe Ferry provide a link between the English port city of Southampton and the Hampshire village of Hythe on the west side of Southampton Water. It is used both by commuters and tourists, and forms an important link in the Solent Way and E9 European coastal paths.
The MV Hotspur IV is a historic passenger ferry, which previously operated on the Hythe Ferry service. This service connects the town of Hythe and the city of Southampton, across Southampton Water in England.
MV Hythe Scene is a catamaran ferry operating on the Hythe ferry service. This service connects the town of Hythe and the city of Southampton, across Southampton Water in England.
The Caledonian MacBrayne fleet is the largest fleet of car and passenger ferries in the United Kingdom, with 34 units in operation and another 2 under construction. The company provides lifeline services to 23 islands off the west coast of Scotland, as well as operating routes in the Firth of Clyde.
Cruiser is a passenger vessel owned by Clyde Marine Services Ltd operating in the River Clyde as part of the company's charter cruise fleet. Her former names are Southsea Queen, Hythe Hotspur and Poole Scene.
MV Ali Cat is a motor catamaran passenger ferry owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited and operated by Caledonian MacBrayne, which along with MV Argyll Flyer provides a service from Dunoon to Gourock across the Firth of Clyde.
MV Jupiter was a passenger and vehicle ferry in the fleet of Caledonian MacBrayne in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. She was the oldest of three "streakers" and the third River Clyde steamer to bear the name 'Jupiter'. Her open car deck was accessible by stern and side ramps ro-ro. She entered service in 1974, and operated the Gourock to Dunoon crossing for much of her career. In 2006, she became the oldest vessel in the CalMac fleet and continued in service with them until 2010. Jupiter was sold for breaking in 2011.
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 Orcadia is a ro-ro passenger and vehicle ferry. She 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. After a lengthy lay-up, she was sold in 2015 to Pentland Ferries to be converted for ferry services and work with the renewable energy sector around Orkney and the Pentland Firth.
RML 497 is a former Royal Navy Fairmile B motor launch from World War II. She was named Western Lady III on her entry to civilian service, as a passenger motor vessel for Western Lady Ferry Service. From 2009 to 2015, she operated as The Fairmile for Greenway Ferry on their day cruise route from Torquay and Brixham to Dartmouth and Greenway. In May 2013, she was returned to her original wartime appearance. Torbay's "ferry wars" forced her removal from service, and in December 2015, RML 497 was acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
MV Chieftain, ex-Seabus, is a passenger ferry built in 2007 for Clyde Marine Services to run the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) Gourock to Kilcreggan service on the Firth of Clyde.
MV Juno was a passenger and vehicle ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne on the Firth of Clyde, Scotland between 1974 and 2007. She was the middle of three vessels nicknamed "streakers", the first in the Calmac fleet to be fitted with Voith Schneider Propellers. Juno left service in early 2007 and was laid up at Rosneath for 4 years. On 18 May 2011, she was beached there for scrapping and was gone by the end of July.
MV Lochmor was a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne serving the Small Isles from 1979 until 2001. Since 2009 she has operated cruises from Poole as MV Jurassic Scene.
MV Maid of Ashton was a passenger ferry operated by Caledonian Steam Packet Company, initially on the Holy Loch service. Rendered redundant by the car ferry revolution, she was sold for a new career as a floating restaurant on the Thames, under the name Hispaniola.
MV Arran was a pioneering Firth of Clyde vehicle ferry introduced by Caledonian Steam Packet Company in 1953. She spent fifteen years on the Upper Clyde crossings, followed by five years at Islay. Initially hoist-loading, via side ramps, these were replaced by a stern ramp in 1973. During her final years with CalMac, she relieved across the network. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to turn her into a floating restaurant, before she was scrapped in 1993.
Rowhedge Ironworks was a shipyard situated on the River Colne, and in the village of Rowhedge, in the English county of Essex. It existed from 1904 to 1964, and built a number of coastal vessels, including VIC type Clyde puffers and ferries for the Hythe Ferry in Southampton. The yard also specialised in building small craft for overseas buyers, often in kit form for assembly abroad, including vessels for use on Lake Titicaca and the River Nile.
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