Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has confirmed that the name of its new ship to service the Isle of Bute will be named after the island. MV Bute is currently being built by the Remontowa Group in Gdansk, Poland.

Funding of up to £8.75million for the new ship was announced in October, 2003, by Minister of Transport, Nicol Stephen MSP. The ship is due to enter service as the newest addition to the CalMac fleet in the summer of 2005.

The name of the new ship was confirmed today (Friday, November 12), by CalMac’s Chairman Dr Harold Mills, at the Conference organised by the Firth of Clyde Forum on “Transport on the Clyde” being held today in Glasgow.  Dr Mills said: “The new MV Bute will actually be the seventh ship on the Clyde to have the name.  The first was one of the original paddle steamers built for the Wemyss Bay Railway when it opened in 1865, while the next four were cargo ships sailing all the way from Glasgow and discharging at the various small piers on the Firth until they reached Rothesay and beyond.  The best known Bute, however, was the car ferry which entered service for The Caledonian Steam Packet Company on the Wemyss Bay-Rothesay crossing on 6 December, 1954.”

Dr Mills continued: “She was the third member of the trio of dual-purpose vessels - Arran, Bute and Cowal - which revolutionized the Clyde services half a century ago.  Until their appearance car drivers had to experience the trauma of negotiating narrow wooden planks and then only if the tide was suitable.  The 'ABC ferries' introduced the concept of hoist-loading where vehicles were driven on to the lift at any state of the tide and subsequently parked in a spacious garage beneath the passenger accommodation. This new ferry will mark the start of the latest generation of car ferries and we are pleased to be able to confirm good progress. This is an important step towards the development of a 21st century ferry service for the island of Bute and we have already begun to prepare for her introduction next summer.”

Dr Mills concluded “I am pleased that the Board has decided to name the new vessel MV Bute, especially since I served in the late fifties on the previous MV Bute as an Assistant Purser to well known Rothesay Purser Peter Shaw.”

The Remontowa shipyard’s technical department employs the most up to date technology and has recently introduced three-dimensional modelling techniques for steel and outfit production information.

Norrie Brown, who is supervising the project on behalf of CalMac said: “One of the most interesting features of the project has been the creation of a new ship model and it is, for example, possible to “walk through” the engine room and accommodation to get an impression of what the compartments will eventually look like. Production of steel units is now well advanced and assembly on a transportable arrangement has commenced, prior to integrated blocks being transferred to the launch way.  This will be a “sideways” launch, so there will be quite a splash!”

 Testing of the stabiliser equipment took place recently in the Rolls-Royce works in Dunfermline.

Procuring the new ship will cost up to £8.75million and MV Bute will carry nearly 60 cars (nearly twice as many cars as the 38 carried by Streakers currently operating on the Clyde) and 450 passengers on CalMac’s busiest route, and is due to  enter service in the summer of next year.

Further details on MV Bute’s progress and her anticipated arrival on station will be confirmed as she takes shape and progress will regularly be updated on the Company’s website www.calmac.co.uk

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For further information on the contents of this News Release, please contact Debs Brown, Marketing Department, Caledonian MacBrayne.   Tel: 01475 650273.

Issued:  Friday, November 12  : 1100