Newsletter
August 2025
Contents
From the helm
From delivery to debut: preparing a ferry for service. We hear from our Chief Executive, Kevin Hobbs.
News and views
Catch up with the latest CMAL news you might have missed.
Meet the board
Meet one of our most recent additions to our board—non-executive director, Stuart Cresswell.
Behind the scenes
Shaping a greener future across the network with Ruth Rice, our Environmental and Sustainability Manager.
From the helm
From delivery to debut: preparing a ferry for service
—Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive of CMAL
Last week, we saw MV Lochmor launched from the slipway into the Sea of Marmara at Cemre shipyard in Turkey. She is the third of four vessels being built at the yard, and the launch marks another big step forward in our plans to rejuvenate the Scottish ferry service.
While MV Lochmor enters the next stage of her build, we’re working closely with Cemre to prepare MV Isle of Islay, the first of the four vessels, for handover and delivery.
Building a vessel is a complex process, and the final stages before handover are arguably the most important and difficult part of the process. MV Isle of Islay passed two sets of sea trials this summer, where her battery, propulsion, power systems and energy systems were all tested. Each system must integrate seamlessly; from engines to electronics, every detail matters.
She is now in the final outfitting stage and will go for acceptance sea trials, after which she will be subject to final checks and sign off from Lloyd’s Register and the Marine Coastguard Agency (MCA). If this all goes smoothly, she will be officially handed over to CMAL and start her journey home. From the Sea of Marmara to Scotland, it will take about two weeks, weather permitting, to reposition to Scotland.
Continues below…
CalMac’s crew will be onboard, familiarising themselves with the vessel, its systems and begin to understand the performance of this first-in-class vessel. Full familiarisation will take about six weeks, but as the four vessels being built at Cemre are all standardised, we expect the next three to require less familiarisation time. Each lesson we learn with the Isle of Islay will be reflected in the MV Loch Indaal, MV Lochmor and MV Claymore as they are delivered to CMAL from Cemre.
The journey from Turkey to Scotland will include a stop at Gibraltar for refuelling and loading stores. Once she arrives in Scotland, she will undergo rigorous testing in several ports in the areas where she will be serving.
MV Isle of Islay’s sister ship MV Lochmor moments after her launch on 23 August 2025
MV Lochmor glides down the slipway into the Sea of Marmara
The vessel has been built to reflect the community’s needs, with increased carrying capacity and resilience, and residents have been patiently awaiting the MV Isle of Islay’s arrival and entry to service.
The launches in Turkey have been relatively modest affairs, with the focus firmly on getting the vessels into the water so work could be completed. However, we will welcome the MV Isle of Islay to Scotland with a true community celebration, which we will replicate with the arrival of each of her sister vessels.
We are already in discussion with Islay representatives, schools, communities and CalMac about the community event to mark her entry into service. Schools across the island have been involved in an art competition, and winners will be invited on board to see their paintings displayed on the passenger deck. We will also be offering tours of the new vessel and a ceremonial naming, where a bottle of whisky will be smashed as she’s christened MV Isle of Islay, as per tradition.
MV Lochmor as seen from the deck of MV Isle of Islay
MV Lochmor’s launch event on 23 August 2025, sister ship of MV Isle of Islay
The Isle of Islay will likely serve the community for the next 30 years, and her entry to service will be the next milestone in our plans to rejuvenate the Scottish ferry fleet. She is the second of 16 new vessels joining the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Fleet by the end of the decade, and we eagerly anticipate her arrival.
News and views
Meet the board
Stuart Cresswell
Appointed as a non-executive director in November 2024, Stuart Cresswell brings a wealth of experience working in Scotland’s ports and harbours industry to CMAL’s Board. As one of the country’s most highly respected port professionals, Stuart has spent his entire career in the sector, beginning as a shipping agent before advancing to senior leadership roles.
Until 2023, Stuart served as a Senior Leader at Associated British Ports, where he was responsible for all ABP port operations in Scotland. His vast experience covers everything from the commercial running of harbours to large-scale infrastructure projects such as building new quays and upgrading port facilities.
Stuart’s leadership extends beyond his day-to-day roles. He is the immediate past chair of the British Port Association’s Scottish Ports Committee, a non-executive director of the Scottish Shipping Benevolent Association and a former President of the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce. These positions have equipped him with a deep understanding of the economic and community impact of Scotland’s maritime infrastructure.
At CMAL, he sees his role as both a contributor and a challenger, by helping shape discussions, asking the right questions and ensuring decisions are made in the best interests of ferry users. His extensive port experience lends itself to his invaluable operational insight. Whether it’s through site visits to Islay, Jura or the Western Isles, or engaging directly with local communities and ferry staff, Stuart offers a hands-on approach to supporting delivery teams.
Looking ahead, he welcomes the scale of investment committed by the Scottish Government to improve the ferry network. From the electrification of the small vessels to the ongoing harbour upgrades, he sees this as a defining period for Scotland’s maritime sector.
When it comes to favourite ports or vessels, Stuart has a special mention for MV Glen Sannox, praising its improved passenger comfort. He also admires the busy, efficient operations at Oban and is looking forward to seeing the transformation of Port Ellen.
For Stuart, being part of CMAL is about more than infrastructure. It’s about giving back, finding smarter solutions and delivering continuous improvement for Scotland’s coastal communities.
Behind the scenes
Shaping a greener future across the network
—Ruth Rice, Environmental and Sustainability Manager
Scotland has set an ambitious course: to restore nature and end its contribution to climate change by 2045. This commitment spans every sector, and as a key partner in delivering lifeline ferry and harbour services, CMAL has a responsibility to lead by example. Our stakeholders, including the Scottish Government, expect us to provide ferries and harbour infrastructure that are not only safe and efficient, but also sustainable, resilient and beneficial to the communities we serve.
CMAL’s environmental strategy is the blueprint for meeting that challenge. It outlines clear priorities, measurable targets and the actions needed to achieve them. At its heart is a drive to reduce the environmental impact of the next generation of vessels, harbours, and ports, while preparing them for the realities of a changing climate. This isn’t just about lowering emissions. It’s about protecting and enhancing local biodiversity and designing assets that will continue to serve Scotland’s communities for decades to come.
Guiding our strategy are four core priorities:
1
Protect and enhance the environment
2
Sustainably procure and dispose of our assets
3
Decarbonise and optimise energy efficiency
4
Design climate-resilient assets
Delivering on these priorities requires more than technical fixes. It demands a shift in mindset. Sustainability must be embedded at the very start of project planning, shaping how we think about investment, resilience and long-term value. This starts at the design stage, with a focus on building ships that are more energy-efficient and ready to adopt low or zero-emission technology where possible.
A good example of how we are putting our plan to decarbonise our fleet vessels into action can be seen with the Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP). With the contract for phase one awarded in March to Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in Gdansk, Poland, this will see the construction of seven new electric ferries that will serve nine Clyde and Hebridean routes from 2027, significantly cutting emissions and improving connectivity.
In the coming months, we will also see the delivery of the new Islay vessels, MV Isle of Islay and MV Loch Indaal, which have been designed with more efficient hull forms and will run on battery power when manoeuvring at berth. This means that both vessels will require less energy to move through the water, leading to lower fuel consumption and consequently reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Our move towards electric ferries also signifies how the network must adapt to new energy systems through shore power capacity and smarter harbour design. This can be seen with CMAL’s investment in shore power infrastructure for Serco NorthLink’s passenger ferries at the Port of Aberdeen. The work for this facility is almost complete and will enable vessels to switch off their engines while berthed and draw clean electricity directly from the grid.
We are also designing ports that mitigate and are more resilient to the effects of climate change. In the last newsletter, Ramsay covered the full life-cycle impact of our infrastructure projects by using lower-carbon materials and adapting our designs to make our harbours more resilient to projected rising sea levels. But futureproofing isn’t only about how we can make our facilities long-lasting. It’s also about protecting the natural environments in which we operate.
That’s why biodiversity protection has become a central part of our construction approach. Every harbour is embedded within a living ecosystem, and we recognise that our work must respect and preserve local wildlife.
We implement Otter and Breeding Bird Protection Plans to ensure construction activities are carefully timed and managed around sensitive habitats. This may mean adjusting work schedules to avoid nesting seasons, creating buffer zones around habitats, or using quieter, specialist equipment to reduce disturbance. By ingraining biodiversity safeguards in our construction activity, we are protecting fragile coastal ecosystems while ensuring that Scotland’s ferry infrastructure can coexist sustainably with the environment.
Outwith CMAL’s key vessels and infrastructure projects, our work also extends into wider collaboration across Scotland’s sustainability landscape. In June, we joined Climate Ready Infrastructure Scotland (C.R.I.S.), a forum designed to bring together infrastructure owners and operators to share best practices, identify risks, and develop solutions to the challenges posed by climate change. Our participation not only ensures that the changing needs of coastal and island communities are represented but also gives us a chance to learn from other sectors.
By integrating these environmental priorities into every stage of CMAL’s work—whether in vessel design, harbour construction, biodiversity protection or national collaboration—we are accelerating Scotland’s journey to a greener maritime network. Today’s investments shouldn’t just be about powering ships and ports. They should have a long-term vision for how we can safeguard our future and the communities that the changing climate will most impact.
Live Harbour Webcams
Keep an eye on harbour conditions with our live webcams streaming from across the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Network of Scotland.