MV Loch Portain
| MV Loch Portain approaching the Berneray slipway in the Outer Hebrides MV Loch Portain approaching the Berneray slipway in the Outer Hebrides | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | MV Loch Portain |
| Operator: | Caledonian MacBrayne |
| Port of registry: | Glasgow |
| Route: | Sound of Harris |
| Builder: | Feniks, Gdańsk[1] and McTay Marine, Liverpool |
| Yard number: | McTay 129 |
| Launched: | March 2003 |
| Completed: | May 2003 |
| In service: | 5 June 2003 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 9274824 Callsign: VQKE8 |
| Status: | in service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | ro-ro vehicle ferry |
| Tonnage: | 950 GRT; 170 tons deadweight (DWT)[1] |
| Length: | 49 metres (161 ft)[1] |
| Beam: | 14.4 metres (47.2 ft)[1] |
| Draught: | 3 m |
| Propulsion: | water-jet propulsion system |
| Speed: | 10.5 knots |
| Capacity: | 195 passengers and 33 cars |
| Crew: | 5 |
| Notes: | [2][3] |
MV Loch Portain is a Caledonian MacBrayne ro-ro car ferry built for the Sound of Harris crossing in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Contents
History
Soon after the Sound of Harris service started in 1996, it became apparent that a new vessel was required.[3] This was built, as another large variant on the successful Loch Class, by McTay Marine on the Mersey. The new ferry was named MV Loch Portain on 23 April 2003 and undertook sea trials, before arriving in North Uist on 1 June.[3]
Layout
MV Loch Portain's car deck provides space for up to 32 cars. Passenger accommodation, above the car deck is fitted out with several seating areas, toilets, an information display and vending machine catering. Her bridge, above the passenger lounge, provides a grandstand view - essential on the tortuous Sound of Harris route.[3]
A lack of depth in the Sound of Harris led to the adoption of a water-jet propulsion system, rather than the Voith Schneider units of the other Loch Class ferries.[3]
Service
MV Loch Portain was built for the Leverburgh (Harris) to Berneray (North Uist) route and has operated there since 2003. MV Loch Bhrusda had started the service in 1996, but could only carry 18 cars and soon proved inadequate.[4] Initially, the service connected Leverburgh with a slipway at Otternish on North Uist, until the Berneray Causeway opened in April 1999, when the ferry's southern terminus moved to a purpose-built slipway at the northern end of the causeway.[4]
The Sound of Harris is full of islands and rocks, and the route followed by the ferry covers nine nautical miles in an hour.[4] From Leverburgh the ferry skirts the islets near the Harris coast before heading south to North Uist. Close to the island of Grodhaigh it takes a sharp right turn and heads nearly due west to the southern tip of Berneray.
The MV Loch Portain carries twice as many cars as the Loch Bhrusda, and more passengers. The new ferry is more stable in heavier seas and also significantly quieter than her predecessor. The route has proved far more popular than predicted and reservations are advised for vehicles. In Summer 2006, the service started to operate seven days per week, making it the first route to operate a Sunday service to the northern half of the Western Isles.[4]
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 ""9274824"" (subscription required). Miramar Ship Index. R.B. Haworth. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz.
- ↑ "MV Loch Portain". CalMac. http://www.calmac.co.uk/mv_loch_portain.html. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Loch Portain". Ships of Calmac. http://www.shipsofcalmac.net/h_loch_portain.asp. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Sound of Harris Ferry". Undiscovered Scotland. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/harris/ferry/index.html. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
