MV Lochmor, the primary of two new vessels for the Little Minch routes, was launched August 23, 2025 at Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Yalova, Turkey.
MV Hebrides, the brand new ferry together with sister vessel, MV Claymore, will present a two-vessel service to the routes between Uig on Skye, Tarbert (Harris) and Lochmaddy (North Uist). MV Lochmor can accommodate as much as 450 passengers and 100 vehicles, or 14 industrial autos, bringing a serious increase to capability and resilience for the communities it can serve.
Transport Scotland supplied £115m of funding for the Little Minch ferries undertaking in 2022, with a few of the finances allotted to minor port enhancements to mirror the design of those vessels. The contract was awarded to Cemre Marin Endustri in February 2023, following a aggressive tender course of. MV Lochmor is the third of 4 standardised vessels being constructed on the Turkish yard for CMAL as a part of a major funding in Scotland’s ferry community.
The launch ceremony was attended by representatives of CMAL and key undertaking stakeholders. The ferry was formally launched by Kay MacLeod, a protracted serving CalMac worker who works at Tarbert ferry terminal.
Following her launch, MV Lochmor will endure additional outfitting and system installations within the water earlier than sea trials happen. She is scheduled to reach in Scotland later in 2026, after which she is going to full crew familiarisation and native operational testing earlier than getting into service.
Over the approaching months, the primary of the 4 vessels constructed on the yard, MV Isle of Islay, might be launched into service on the Islay route. CMAL is working carefully with Cemre and CalMac with the shared objective of delivering and deploying all 4 vessels on the earliest alternative.
Source link
