MV Hebridean Isles
 Departing Port Askaig for Kennacraig, August 2021
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Owner | Caledonian Maritime Assets |
| Operator | Caledonian MacBrayne |
| Route | Kennacraig–Islay |
| Builder | Cochrane Shipbuilders, Selby |
| Yard number | 130[2] |
| Launched |
|
| Maiden voyage | 5 December 1985 |
| Out of service | 17 November 2024 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | waiting to be scrapped [3] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | 85.15 m (279 ft 4+1⁄2 in) |
| Beam | 15.80 m (51 ft 10 in) (Design) 16.31 m (53 ft 6 in) (Overall) |
| Draught | 3.11 m (10 ft 2+1⁄2 in) |
| Depth | 5.00 m (16 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Capacity |
|
| Crew |
|
| Notes | [4] |
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.
History
[edit]MV Hebridean Isles (nicknamed "Heb Isles" amongst crew and passengers alike) was constructed at Cochrane Shipbuilders's yard in Selby and launched sideways into the Ouse in 1985. She was the first MacBrayne vessel to be built outside Scotland, the first to be launched sideways and the first to be launched by royalty – the Duchess of Kent.[5]
Broadly similar to the MV Isle of Arran, she was intended for the Uig triangle, but was designed to be suitable for use anywhere within the network. Following her delivery voyage, she conducted trials at various ports around the network, but did not take up duties at Uig, Skye until spring 1986. MV Columba, the winter relief ship continued there while construction works were carried out at the various piers. New linkspans were required at all three terminals, so the new ship found temporary employment as a winter relief vessel at Ullapool and Oban, where she stood in for the MV Caledonia and MV Glen Sannox. Even when she took over at Uig, she still had to use her hoist at the Skye terminal for eight months while the new berth at the end of the pier was finished.[4]
She brought vastly improved standards of passenger comfort and became popular, with slightly reduced sailing times and, once she was able to use her bow and stern ramps, greatly reduced turnaround times.[6]
Layout
[edit]MV Hebridean Isles' design incorporated a bow visor, bow and stern ramps, and a vehicle hoist with side ramps. This made her suitable for all the routes served by the large fleet units. Her spacious car deck could accommodate 60 cars,[2] with passenger accommodation on two decks forward of the hoist. One deck comprised the cafeteria furthest aft, then the entrance concourse, shop and information point, with the reclining lounge and bar towards the bow. The bar was converted to a Coffee Cabin in December 2008. Above the cafeteria was the observation lounge with crew accommodation forward of this. The bridge was on the next level at the bow. Externally there was ample deck space including, like the Isle of Arran, a deck area forward of the bridge, giving passengers a view ahead.[4]
Service
[edit]MV Hebridean Isles spent her first 15 years crossing the Little Minch from Uig to Tarbert and Lochmaddy (Lochmaddy only on Sundays), using her stern ramp at Uig and her bow visor and ramp at both Tarbert and Lochmaddy. Demand eventually became too much and she was replaced by the larger MV Hebrides in 2001.[4] Hebridean Isles headed south as the dedicated Islay ferry, taking over from MV Isle of Arran. Operating out of Kennacraig on the Kintyre peninsula, she sailed to Port Ellen and Port Askaig. During the summer season, she continued to Colonsay and Oban on Wednesdays, returning to Kennacraig in the evening. Between 2003 and 2011, she was joined by Isle of Arran in the summer, providing a series of additional sailings throughout the week and maintaining the service on Wednesdays during the Oban extension.[6]
For six months from October 2002, she was chartered to NorthLink Ferries and inaugurated their Stromness to Scrabster service. She continued to relieve there each winter.[6]
During June and July 2010, Hebridean Isles was redeployed on the Oban to Coll and Tiree run, replacing MV Clansman, which had suffered major engine problems. She hit the pier at Scarinish, Tiree, on the late afternoon of 29 June 2010, sustaining a hole above the waterline. Reverse pitch was selected prior to the collision but an unspecified problem prevented reverse engaging. The vessel returned to Oban for repairs and resumed the Coll and Tiree run two days after the incident.
In summer 2011, MV Finlaggan joined Hebridean Isles as the main Islay vessel, freeing up Isle of Arran as a spare vessel.[7]
On 28 January 2014, it was announced that Hebridean Isles would temporarily take over freight services between Ullapool and Stornoway in the Western Isles, due to the freight ferry MS Clipper Ranger colliding with the pier at Stornoway.
Hebridean Isles relieved on the Uig Triangle alongside Isle of Arran in January and February 2016 whilst Hebrides was away covering for other vessels.[8] In July 2016, she collided with the pier at Kennacraig, with her traffic being carried by Finlaggan and the cargo boat Red Princess.
In October 2016, Hebridean Isles provided a twice-nightly freight service on the Ullapool - Stornoway route whilst MV Loch Seaforth was in dry-dock.
From 3 January to 21 January 2017, Hebridean Isles relieved on the Ardrossan - Brodick crossing alongside Isle of Arran whilst MV Caledonian Isles was away for her annual overhaul. She repeated this relief service in January 2018, 2019 and 2020.
During April and May 2018, Hebridean Isles operated an Oban - Lochboisdale service whilst MV Lord of the Isles covered for MV Clansman's repair at James Watt Dock in Greenock.[9]
In September 2018, Hebridean Isles relieved on the Ardrossan - Brodick crossing in place of MV Isle of Arran, which was out of service owing to issues with her propeller shaft. Caledonian Isles had also sustained damage to her loading ramps whilst carrying an overweight vehicle. Hebridean Isles provided additional capacity on the Ardrossan-Brodick crossing, in addition to her first ever sailing to Campbeltown [citation needed] due to Caledonian Isles operating with a reduced capacity.[10] Additionally, MV Loch Linnhe provided additional sailings on the Claonaig to Lochranza crossing to help ease congestion.[11]
After relieving at Arran in January 2019, Hebridean Isles returned in March 2019 to cover for Caledonian Isles, which had rammed the pier at Brodick and sustained damage to her bow visor as a result of her bow thrusters failing.[12]
From January - February 2022, Hebridean Isles relieved on the Ardrossan - Brodick route. She operated the route alone (rather than alongside Isle of Arran) due to a temporary timetable caused by staff absences relating to COVID-19. She remained on the route for over a month as a result of delays to Caledonian Isles' return to service.[13]
2023 Breakdown disruption
[edit]In January 2023, Hebridean Isles was scheduled to relieve Caledonian Isles on the Ardrossan - Brodick route alongside MV Isle of Arran. However, Hebridean Isles was affected by a number of technical faults, so Isle of Arran operated the service alone. Hebridean Isles provided some freight services between Brodick and Troon before developing another fault in late February and being removed from service. The situation was further compounded by the delayed return of MV Caledonian Isles from overhaul.[14]
Hebridean Isles remained out of service through summer 2023.[15] She spent time laid up in Troon and Ayr, and in dry dock at Greenock and Birkenhead, where a further rudder fault was discovered during sea trials.[16][17] CalMac reported pitch control issues with her controllable pitch propellers.[18] Her absence led to disruption to the Islay, Lochboisdale, Arran and Campbeltown services.[18] The Campbeltown route was cancelled for the full summer, with MV Isle of Arran remaining the second vessel at Islay and the chartered MV Alfred as the second vessel at Arran.[19] On 26 August, Hebridean Isles arrived in Aberdeen for further repairs in dry dock by Dales Marine Services.[15]
On 14 October, she returned to service between Kennacraig and Port Askaig, as part of operational trials.[20] It was subsequently confirmed repairs had been successful and the vessel returned to service.[21]
Retirement
[edit]In August 2024, CalMac announced that Hebridean Isles would be retired from the fleet by 21 November 2024, due to rising maintenance costs and the imminent arrivals of MV Isle of Islay and MV Loch Indaal on the Kennacraig - Islay route.[22] The announcement came just a day after Hebridean Isles was temporarily removed from service due to a bow thruster problem, though CalMac stressed this was not related to the retirement plans.[23] In September 2024, Hebridean Isles was moved from the Islay service to Arran, operating between Brodick and either Ardrossan or Troon, depending on weather, alongisde MV Alfred. This was to allow Isle of Arran, who had in turn been relieving Caledonian Isles during her prolonged withdrawal from service for technical reasons, to depart for her annual overhaul. Lord of the Isles was moved from South Uist to Islay to operate alongside Finlaggan.[24]
Hebridean Isles's final days in operation consisted of providing additional freight capacity between Ullapool and Stornoway alongside MV Isle of Lewis in November 2024, whilst MV Loch Seaforth underwent annual maintenance. Upon Loch Seaforth's return to service, Hebridean Isles was withdrawn from service on 17 November 2024. She departed for Glasgow, arriving the next day at King George V Dock, prior to being taken to a shipbreakers for dismantling. Any spare parts which could be used for maintaining other vessels will be stored in a CalMac warehouse in Gourock.[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "MV Hebridean Isles". CalMac. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ a b "MV Hebridean Isles". CMAL Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ a b Calum Watson (18 November 2024). "Islanders bid a fond farewell to MV Hebridean Isles". BBC News.
- ^ a b c d "MV Hebridean Isles". Ships of Calmac. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ John Macleod (21 November 1998). "Postcard from the Pier". The Scotsman. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
- ^ a b c McCrorie, Ian. CalMac Ferries. CalMac. ISBN 0-9507166-7-7.
- ^ "Islay Ferry". Isle of Islay. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
- ^ "Dedicated ferries for Uig triangle during winter". Island News and Advertiser. 7 October 2015. Archived from the original on 12 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ "'Tweaks' to ferry services following Easter demand". Stornoway Gazette. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "Service status & info: Ardrossan-Brodick". CalMac. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ "Service status & info: Claonaig - Lochranza". CalMac. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ "Arran ferry crash causes traffic chaos". Arran Banner. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ "CalMac service remains suspended after three weeks over ferry repairs". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ^ Martin Williams (25 February 2023). "CalMac sorry for disruption with broken ferries sidelined". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ a b Keith Findlay (2 September 2023). "Troubled CalMac ferry MV Hebridean Isles in Aberdeen for repairs". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Customer Update - Update on Services to and from Islay". CalMac Ferries. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ "Customer Update - Latest update on services". CalMac Ferries. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Return of MV Hebridean Isles delayed again as repairs continue". BBC News. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ^ "Customer Update - Latest network update, 16 June 2023". CalMac Ferries. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Repairs hope for veteran CalMac ferry MV Hebridean Isles". BBC News. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ "CalMac ferry MV Hebridean Isles fixed after 10 months of repairs". BBC News. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "MV Hebridean Isles to be retired in November as CalMac and CMAL modernise major vessel fleet". CalMac Ferries. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Customer Update - Retirement of MV Hebridean Isles". CalMac Ferries. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ "Customer Update – Islay Services". CalMac Ferries. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
External links
[edit]
- MV Hebridean Isles on www.calmac.co.uk