Chartered CalMac catamaran to begin sea trials

MV Alfred is to be put through berthing trials before being used as a relief service on CalMac routes

CalMac is due to begin trials of a catamaran ferry to help provide relief cover on its west coast network.

The Scottish government has provided £9m for the nine-month long charter of MV Alfred, owned by Orkney-based Pentland Ferries.

There was a short delay to the arrival of the boat due to an issue with another of Pentland Ferries' vessels.

CalMac said MV Alfred would not be added to its fleet until berthing trials were completed.

The charter includes a crew provided by the privately-owned Orkney ferry operator.

In coming days the catamaran is to be put through tests, berthing at harbours at Ullapool, Lochmaddy, Port Askaig, Campbeltown, Brodick, Ardrossan and Troon.

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The trials are due to be completed on 30 April, and Ayr is being considered as a potential base for the ferry.

MV Alfred has been brought in to boost resilience after CalMac's ageing fleet was hit by breakdowns and shortage of capacity.

Island communities have long called for the state-owned ferry operator to charter a relief ferry to ease pressures on west coast routes.

Analysis: Why a CalMac catamaran is such a big deal

The charter of MV Alfred is much more than just ferry operator CalMac securing a relief vessel. For years campaigners have argued that catamarans offer a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way of renewing the west coast fleet.

With their high car-carrying capacity, ability to navigate shallow waters and fuel efficiency, they say catamarans offer the ideal solution, rather than the large, complicated, heavily-crewed, mono-hulled ships favoured by the Scottish government's ferries procurement agency CMAL.

CMAL insists it's not anti-catamaran - but it questions whether they are the most suitable type of vessel for CalMac's routes. The charter of MV Alfred offers a chance to finally put the arguments to the test.

Read more: Why a CalMac catamaran is such a big deal

CalMac looked at chartering Pentland Ferries' MV Pentalina in 2021 but the deal fell through.

Robbie Drummond, chief Executive of CalMac, said MV Alfred would be a welcome addition to the fleet.

He said: "Our primary focus will be to have her available for resilience purposes and provide relief benefits across the network.

"This should help mitigate the impact of disruption or where certain islands are reduced to single vessel service."

He added: "Although resilience availability will remain the priority, there may be opportunities for MV Alfred to operate additional, non-bookable freight sailings, when possible, to support capacity constraints.

"This is most likely to be focused on freight operations at key pinch points on the network."

Mr Drummond said communities would be kept updated on planned deployments of the catamaran.

The charter of MV Alfred has been agreed between CalMac and Pentland Ferries without the involvement of the Scottish government's ferries procurement agency Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, or CMAL.

CMAL said in a statement it welcomed the charter as a short term relief vessel, but questioned the suitability of catamarans for all west coast routes.

A spokesperson said: "In our search for second hand tonnage, and when designing new tonnage, CMAL includes all types of vessel and catamarans are no exception.

"However, when considering catamarans as a long-term solution, what often goes unreported is that in geographies similar to Scotland, with comparable weather and sea conditions, medium speed (below 20 knots) catamarans are not a common choice for passenger / commercial ferry services."