Turkish shipyard celebrates launch of its THIRD CalMac ferry

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Resplendent in the famous Caledonian MacBrayne livery and proudly sporting both the Saltire and the Turkish flags, the MV Lochmor slipped quietly into the clear, warm waters of the Sea of Marmara on Saturday.

The completion of the third out of four Scottish ferries outsourced to Turkey for construction is news sure to gladden the heart of islanders, many of whom will benefit from the vessel.

The ferry along with sister vessel, MV Claymore, will provide a two-vessel service to the Outer Hebrides, including routes between Uig on Skye, Tarbert and Lochmaddy.

However - launched on time - MV Lochmor’s fast completion stands in stark contrast to the slow pace of the SNP’s Ferguson Marine yard in Port Glasgow, which was nationalised in 2019.

There, two vital CalMac ferries for the Arran service, the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa, have been dogged by years of delays and spiralling costs.

SNP ministers signed off the purchase of the two boats for the West Coast in 2015 for £97 million, yet when the Glen Sannox was launched by Nicola Sturgeon to great fanfare in 2017, the ship had painted-on windows and only entered service earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the Glen Rosa is set to arrive eight years behind schedule, with the total cost for the vessels passing £460 million.

Amid the chaos, island boat contracts were handed to the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Turkey.

The first of the vessels, the MV Isle of Islay, was launched in March last year, followed by MV Loch Indaal last June after astonishingly fast work from Turkish labourers.

In 2023, a £115 million contract for two further ferries of the same design as Islay and Indaal for the ‘Little Minch’ route was also awarded to Cemre.

MV Lochmor was the first to launch of that second order of boats. The final boat, MV Claymore, is also due to be launched this year.

Following its first outing on Saturday, MV Lochmor will now undergo more outfitting plus sea trials and is scheduled to arrive in Scotland in 2026.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, said: ‘I’m delighted to see the successful launch of the MV Lochmor, which marks another significant milestone in our efforts to renew the ferry fleet serving the Clyde and Hebrides network.

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‘The Scottish Government is committed to investing in our ferry services, and the MV Lochmor, along with the MV Claymore and significant port improvements, will deliver our goal of a two-vessel service connecting Uig, Tarbert and Lochmaddy, improving capacity, frequency and resilience for Harris and North Uist.

‘I look forward to the MV Lochmor arriving in Scottish waters and entering service for the communities reliant on the Little Minch routes.’

Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer at CMAL, said: ‘It’s great to see another successful launch at Cemre, with the third of four vessels launched in 17 months.

‘The communities to be served by these vessels will notice a significant improvement in capacity and reliability when MV Lochmor comes into service next year, and even more so when her sister vessel, MV Claymore, joins her a few months later.’

Duncan Mackison, Chief Executive Officer of CalMac, said: ‘With the uplift in capacity and reliability MV Lochmor and MV Claymore will bring, communities and businesses in Skye, Harris and North Uist will prosper with these new vessels in service.

‘The vessel is one of 12 scheduled to join the fleet by 2029 and the regular arrival of new tonnage, starting with MV Isle of Islay later this year, will help us to deliver network-wide service improvements.’

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