| Text Only Version | Site map | Print this Page |
Islands and Routes | Timetables and Fares | Book Online
Booking Hotline08000 66 5000
CalMac names confirms new vessel launch details
Back
27 November 2006

Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne and Ferguson Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow are to celebrate the launch of their latest vessel with a special cruise to observe the event from the River Clyde.

CalMac has confirmed that the new ferry to service Largs-Cumbrae Slip, to be named MV Loch Shira, will be launched from Ferguson’s yard at Port Glasgow on Friday, December 8 at 1300. The event will be open to the public and the yard and the ferry operators are now inviting the local community to join in the celebrations of the event.

 

MV Saturn will leave Gourock at 12 noon on Friday, December 8, returning to Gourock at approximately 1345. Tickets will cost £7.50. CalMac merchandising will also be on sale and light snacks will also be on sale. The tickets will be sold on a first come first served basis and will be available from local CalMac offices at the end of this week. The yard itself will be open to the public for access from 1230.

The new ship, which is named after an Argyll-shire loch, is due to enter service in 2007 and is currently being finished in Fergusons shipyard, Port Glasgow. There are three glens at or near the head of Loch Fyne - Glen Fyne itself, Glen Aray (which leads to Inveraray) and Glen Shira, which opens into Loch Shira (which is really an indentation in Loch Fyne). At its head still stands a fine Georgian Bridge that used to be part of the main road.

 MV Loch Shira will carry 24 cars and 250 passengers.

Funding of up to £5.8million was confirmed for the Largs vessel by the then Minister for Transport Nicol Stephen in Parliament on Wednesday, December 8, 2004.

 ends

For further information on the contents of this News Release, please contact Hugh Dan MacLennan, Head of Communication and Customer Care, Caledonian MacBrayne. Tel: 0776 435 4021; e-mail

 

 Issued: Monday, November 27, 2006 : 1700

CalMac’s Managing Director Lawrie Sinclair said: "We will make this another special day on the Clyde and for Port Glasgow. It is always a day of celebration when another ship goes down the slip and we will be delighted to welcome MV Loch Shira into the CalMac fleet. We have decided to offer the opportunity to watch the event from the river itself and will be making MV Saturn available for a special short cruise from Gourock to Port Glasgow and back to watch the launch from the river, rather than from the yard itself and I am sure a lot of people will want to take advantage of this. We have parties of schoolchildren coming from Cumbrae itself and from local schools, as well as pipers, so the atmosphere is guaranteed to be lively."hugh.maclennan@calmac.co.uk.