Two ferries to be built for west coast of Scotland routes linking Skye with North Uist and Harris will be officially awarded to a shipyard in Turkey it has been announced.
The firm which owns much of Scotland’s ferry infrastructure, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) has announced the ferries is to serve Uig (Skye) Lochmaddy (North Uist) and Tarbert (Harris) across the Little Minch. (See; Uig Harbour closure leds to chartered-in Manx freight ferry).
The newbuilds will be constructed by the Cemre Marin Endustri A.S in Turkey. This is the same yard contracted to build two new ferries to serve Islay (connecting Kennagraig on the Mull of Kintyre) and the Little Minch route ferries will be built to the same specifications as those currently under construction.
According to CMAL, a 10-day “standstill” period will be in place prior to the contract finalised and officially awarded to the yard. As for a forecast of newbuild delivery dates, CMAL added an update will be issued early in January.
The announcement of the contract for the newbuilds to serve the Skye triangle, comes amid the ongoing controversy of the considerable (five year) delayed CalMac ferry twins to serve the Isle of Arran on the Clyde. The newbuilds been built by Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow are also way overbudget.
The Scottish Government’s transport minister's announcement could mean that both the newbuilds could be deployed on the Arran route that links Ardrossan on mainland to help boost capacity during the busy season, as the route is CalMac's most popular service.
More from The National on CMAL's newbuild programme to replace an increasingly ageing fleet.
