Islay’s two new ferries set to be built in Turkey

A Turkish shipyard has been named as the preferred bidder to build Islay’s two new ferries, writes Sandy Neil.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd intends to award the contract to the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Turkey.

The new vessels will bring an almost 40 per cent increase in vehicle and freight capacity on the Islay routes, a reduction in emissions and improve the resilience of the wider fleet.

The first vessel is expected to be delivered by October 2024, with the second vessel following in early 2025.

Jim Anderson, director of vessels at CMAL, said: ‘Identifying a preferred bidder is a big step forward in the project to provide new vessels for Islay and Jura. All four shipyards submitted compelling bids, but with robust assessment of technical and financial criteria, Cemre Marin Endustri was the winner.

‘We will now enter a 10-day standstill period before finalising the contract, at which point we will work closely with the yard to move on to the next stage of the procurement.’

Robbie Drummond, managing director of CalMac, said: ‘We very much look forward to welcoming these two new vessels into the CalMac fleet. This will help us deliver a service we can all be proud of.’

Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Donald Cameron said: ‘It’s very important for the people of Islay, and for the taxpayers, that these Turkish-built ferries are delivered on time and to cost.

‘Let’s hope they make a better job of it than the SNP government has done with the existing ferry contracts.’

The overall cost of the vessels and related port infrastructure works, including project management and delivery costs, will be around £130 million.

Each vessel will carry up to 100 standard cars and 450 passengers. Carbon emissions are expected to be 30 per cent lower than the largest of the existing vessels on the Islay routes and shore power improvements will allow the vessel to plug in when berthed overnight.