The charter of a dedicated vessel for the project not only strengthens project delivery but will also help safeguard Caledonian MacBrayne's (CalMac's) existing Stornoway-Ullapool ferry service.

The 1,057 lanemetre capacity ARROW is currently coming to the end of a 12-month charter to DFDS, with the charter expiring on 24 March 2026.

The Lewis Hub is a major energy project that will connect Scotland's Western Isles to Great Britain's mainland transmission network for the first time, using subsea cables. The Lewis Hub is a key part of the Western Isles HVDC Connection Project that will establish a high voltage subsea and underground transmission link.

A “release mechanism” in ARROW’s charter will allow the 1998-built RoRO to be used by other companies when not required by SSEN Transmission, boosting resilience across the island’s essential lifeline ferry network, including during drydocking and scheduled maintenance of CalMac’s LOCH SEAFORTH, which maintains the Stornoway-Ullapool link.

The charter of ARROW follows close co-operation with Stornoway Port, Comhairle nan Eilean Scar and Ullapool Harbour Trust, with additional support from Transport Scotland, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and CalMac – working together to identify freight solutions that avoid adding pressure to existing ferry services.

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