Andy Millar - CMAL's site supervisor at Cemre presses the button to cut the first steel for Little Minch ferries

Steel cut and keel laying for CMAL’s Little Minch ferries

FerryCeremonies were held at the Turkish Cemre shipyard for CMAL’s two new Little Minch ferries. The keel was laid for the first vessel, while the first steel was cut for its sister ship. The ferries are expected to be delivered in June and October 2025.

The new 94.8-metre vehicle and passenger ferries will be designed and built to the same specification as the two new vessels for Islay and will replace the one vessel that currently covers the two Little Minch routes, Uig to Lochmaddy and Uig to Tarbert.

The public will be invited to vote on the name of both ships later in the year. With capacity for up to 450 passengers and 100 cars, or 14 commercial vehicles, the new vessels will provide increased vehicle and freight capacity on the Little Minch routes, whilst enhancing the overall resilience of the wider fleet.

The two Little Minch vessels are two of six new major vessels set to join the CalMac ferry fleet by the end of 2025. The other four will be Islay vessels ISLE OF ISLAY and LOCH INDAAL, and Ferguson-built Arran vessels GLEN SANNOX and GLEN ROSA.