Latest news with #MVLochIndaal
The National
05-06-2025
- Business
- The National
MV Isle of Islay successfully completes first sea trials in Turkey
MV Isle of Islay trials took place this week with staff from Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) and CalMac in attendance in the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. Officials announced in March that the ship, which is being built by the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard east of Istanbul, was to be delayed by at least three months due to labour shortages and poor weather. The contract for four ferries was awarded to the shipyard in March 2022. The MV Isle of Islay, which will serve Islay and Jura, was expected to be delivered in October of 2024. READ MORE: Island community take ownership of 5000-year-old Tomb of the Eagles The delivery of the Isle of Islay is now expected at the end of this year's second quarter. The first part of the sea trials saw the set-up of the propulsion systems, generators, thrusters, stabilisers and associated electrical systems. These were then tested, trialled and measured with Lloyd's Register and the Marine Coastguard Agency (MCA) in attendance. Testing evaluated the vessel's performance at full load, including speed, stability, manoeuvrability, anchor deployment/recovery and endurance. The trials also established the effectiveness of the vessel's propulsion plant, automation and navigational systems. Jim Anderson, director of vessels at CMAL, said: 'This is a great step forward in the build programme of the Isle of Islay. The team at Cemre are working hard to prepare the vessel for delivery. There is a great feeling of momentum following the successful completion of this first phase of sea trials.' The second set of sea trials will take place later this summer, following the installation of the vessel's battery system and harbour acceptance trials of the hybrid system. Three other ships – the MV Loch Indaal, MV Lochmor and MV Claymore – are being built in Turkey.
BBC News
03-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Fresh delays to Turkish-built CalMac ferries
Delivery dates for a fleet of CalMac ferries being built by a shipyard in Turkey have been pushed back again due to problems with labour to a letter from the government-owned ferries procurement company CMAL, the first of the fleet will not be finished until the end of June at the earliest when it was originally expected in comes at a trying time for CalMac - the west coast operator is facing a shortage of ships and has been grappling with an "exceptional" series of problems with its Scotland said the latest delay was "disappointing" but had been caused by global issues "outwith the yard's control". Problems with the delivery of the ferries from the Cemre yard in Turkey were confirmed in a letter from CMAL to the net zero, energy and transport committee on letter has not yet been published on the Scottish government website, but was shared on social media by the Islay Community said: "We are facing serious issues with labour, particularly the availability of specialist commissioning sub-contractors. "This continues to set the project and delivery back."It said while the yard builds the vessels and installs machinery, manufacturers need their own specialists to commission the systems to ensure warranties are secured."The lack of commissioning engineers is an issue affecting the global shipbuilding industry, and is causing months-long delays in some cases," it letter said snow and cold weather had also delayed the docking of the Isle of Islay to check underwater parts and complete painting. When will the ships be delivered? The first of the Turkish ferries, MV Isle of Islay, was launched a year ago by Morag McNeill, the chairwoman of CMAL, in a ceremony at the Cemre second ship, MV Loch Indaal, was launched three months later by the wife of CMAL's vessel's director Jim Anderson.A freedom of information request from BBC News revealed that a total of 10 CMAL staff and their guests attended the Loch Indaal launch ceremony, with flight and accommodation costs totalling nearly £10, of Islay - destined for the Islay route - was pushed from October to mid-February and will now be delivered "no earlier than the end of Q2 in 2025".CMAL said it expected the other three vessels to "follow a delivery schedule of six-month intervals from the delivery of MV Isle of Islay". This would mean that Loch Indaal, also for the the Islay route, would not be completed until the end of the year at the earliest, when it was due for latter smaller vessels, MV Lochmor and MV Claymore are due to be deployed on the Little Minch routes between Skye, Harris and North CMAL letter added: "The contract has anticipated intervals of four months, but it is prudent we take our current understanding of the situation into consideration."A Transport Scotland spokesperson said that shipyards across the world have been impacted by external supply chain and internal resourcing challenges. They said: "Cemre are working actively to outfit, test, trial, survey and complete the vessels as early as possible."We continue to make clear our strong expectation to CMAL and CalMac to closely monitor progress on delivery and deployment timescales."Following planned sea trials and commissioning work, a clearer indication on delivery, and that of the three sister vessels, will be provided by CMAL."The quality of the workmanship and construction of the vessel is fully meeting CMAL expectations and we look forward to the vessels joining the fleet and serving island communities for years to come." Re-jigged services CalMac recently laid out how it had re-jigged services to cope with pressure due to repair delays and new issues identified during annual Executive Duncan Mackison said a third of its large vessels were currently out of action or operating with reduced charter of the privately-owned catamaran Alfred - said to cost £1m a month - has now been extended to the end of May to maintain services. The summer-only Ardrossan-Campbeltown service remains suspended for another Caledonian Isles, which operates on the Arran route, has been out of action since last February with a series of issues including rust and twisted ship was due back next month, but this has been pushed back, possibly to late April, after new issues were found with the tubes for its propeller Isle of Lewis, which operates to Barra, needs steelwork replaced during annual maintenance, and will not return to service until Sunday 23 March, almost a month later than Clansman has also been slightly delayed in overhaul, while MV Isle of Mull is restricted to just 45 is due to problems with its emergency evacuation systems, which will not be fixed until mid-May at the new Ferguson-built ferry Glen Sannox joined the fleet earlier this year and its sister ship Glen Rosa is due for delivery in Sannox is serving the Arran route but is currently too big to berth at the Ardrossan harbour, sailing instead from Troon.
