Two New Vessels for The Little Minch
In October 2022, The Scottish Government prioritised additional funding to enable CMAL to accelerate plans for replacement vessels.
The two new vessels will be built to the same specification as the existing ferries under construction for Islay. This will speed up the replacement of the major vessel fleet and provide a more standardised vessel type that can be used on a variety of different routes. It’s expected the contract will be awarded before the end of the year. The overall project costs are likely to be around £115 million, including allowance for minor port improvements and management costs.
Contract signed
On 11 January 2023Â at Cemre shipyard in Turkey, CMAL signed the contract to build two new ferries to support the communities at Uig, Lochmaddy and Tarbert (Harris).
"We now enter into a 20-day period during which time the shipyard needs to put the Bank Refund Guarantee in place. As is standard industry practice, the shipyard must provide a signed contract to their banking partner to gain credit committee approval. Â The contract is not finalised until the guarantee is confirmed", company officials stated.
Note: Captioned picture is for illustration purpose only. Picture source: file picture of the veesel from Cemre Shipyard website
Â