On Merseyside, at the shipbuilder in Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, the keel-laying ceremony for the first of two new Western Ferries newbuilds took place for the Scottish operator.
The car and passenger ferry on Tuesday has also been named the MV Sound of Scalpay.
The multimillion-pound contract for the pair was awarded to Cammell Laird (part of the APCL group) to build the vessels for Western Ferries in May 2025. The second ferry will be named the MV Sound of Sleat.
This latest contact is a repeat order of the Western Ferries and Cammell Laird design, which produced the MV Sound of Seil and MV Sound of Soay, both of which in 2013 were constructed at Birkenhead. Since their delivery, both ferries have been stalwarts of Western Ferries’ four-vessel fleet, contributing to the delivery of around 32,000 annual sailings.
At 50m, the double-ended ferry is designed to carry 220 passengers and 40 cars and will operate on Western Ferries’ Gourock to Dunoon route.
The 2013 design has been further optimised to minimise fuel consumption and increase the efficiency of operation. Fuel efficiency savings have been achieved principally by the efficient matching of the hull design to the propulsion package, the reduction of permanent ballast installed, and the selection of low energy consumption machinery, providing both environmental and through-life benefits.
The shipbuilders' design team has also enhanced the original design of the superstructure to improve the aesthetics, with upgrades being made to the heating and ventilation system to improve the passenger and crew experience.
