On 29th September Ferguson’s Shipyard in Port Glasgow won its first ferry building contract since being rescued from closure earlier that month by Clyde Blowers Capital after it went into administration. A £12 million contract has been awarded by the Scottish government to build a third hybrid ferry for CalMac Ferries, a refined sister of the 499gt/2013 built hybrid Hallaig and Lochinvar.
Newbuild No.727 will be able to accommodate 150 passengers and 23 cars or two HGVs and is expected to be launched in the spring of 2016 ahead of a service debut that autumn. Ferguson’s was anticipating a workforce of up to 80 people, including all those who had been made redundant by 10th November.

Elsewhere, technical problems struck CalMac’s Weymss Bay- Rothesay on 7th October when the 2,612gt/2005 built Bute was unable to berth at Weymss Bay. The ship eventually docked to unload before being withdrawn for repairs to her propulsion system. A similar issue had struck the ship on 22nd September. The subject of this month’s Newbuild feature, the Loch Seaforth, has encountered further delays to her handover to Calmac.