Newsletter
December 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
—Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive of CMAL
For those living on Scotland’s islands, ferries are a key part of daily life. Whether transporting goods, people or essential services, they complete hundreds of journeys a day in peak season.
What’s often overlooked is the importance of the supporting infrastructure, which must withstand severe weather, climate change and provide a comfortable place for passengers to embark and disembark from the boats.
That is why our investment programme places infrastructure and vessel delivery side by side. Modern harbours and ports are the foundations that enable our vessels to operate safely and sustainably. As we prepare to welcome new ferries to the fleet, our focus has been firmly on ensuring the network of harbours they use is ready to meet the demands of the future – supporting not just vessels, but the resilience of island life itself.
Our first of two new vessels for Islay, the MV Isle of Islay, will soon make her journey back to Scotland from the Cemre shipyard in Turkey. Her sister vessel, MV Loch Indaal, will join her in the first half of 2026. Their arrival will mark a major milestone in CMAL’s investment programme, increasing capacity on the Islay routes and bringing improved comfort, efficiency and reliability to the communities she serves.
Ahead of the new ferries’ arrival, we have completed significant upgrades at Kennacraig, Colonsay and Port Askaig. This work included dredging, new quay walls, strengthening works, upgraded fendering and provision for shore power connection, ensuring the harbour is both ready for the new vessels and futureproofed for decades to come. Port Askaig now also benefits from a new mooring aid, which will improve resilience on the route and provide a smoother experience for passengers in challenging conditions. Throughout these upgrades, services continued to operate with minimal disruption, reflecting the careful planning that sits behind every infrastructure project we deliver.
At Port Ellen, a major redevelopment is planned to increase marshalling capacity, improve port operations for commercial use and passenger access to vessels, and deliver a new terminal building. This will create a more efficient and accessible gateway for residents and visitors alike. While construction takes place, services will be temporarily rerouted to Port Askaig, demonstrating how our network can flex to ensure continuity even during major works.
Further north, our work at Gasay, close to Lochboisdale ferry terminal, highlights the same long-term approach. Following a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) study which concluded that elements of the existing Lochboisdale terminal had reached the end of their serviceable life, we are leading the development of a replacement facility at the south of the island of Gasay. The project is now in the options development stage, with ground investigation applications submitted. This is a substantial undertaking, but one that will ultimately deliver a more resilient and reliable harbour for the region.
Across all our projects, the objective is the same – to ensure the infrastructure that supports island connectivity is robust, sustainable and ready for future challenges. Whether upgrading slipways, expanding marshalling areas, installing shore power or designing harbours that can withstand climate change, our work lays the foundations for a stronger network.
When the new Islay vessels enter service, they will symbolise more than fleet renewal – they will represent the combined impact of vessel innovation and harbour investment working hand in hand. By continuing to modernise our ports and harbours, we are supporting island communities not just for today, but for generations to come.
News and views
Meet the board
Heather Ferguson
Appointed as Finance Director in November 2020, Heather Ferguson brings more than three decades of financial leadership to CMAL, spanning both private and not-for-profit sectors. Before joining CMAL, she spent six years as Finance Director of a major Glasgow charity, leading financial strategy, establishing an IT team and overseeing complex building refurbishments. As a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and someone who holds the Institute of Directors’ Certificate in Company Direction, Heather blends technical expertise with a strong commitment to public service.
Throughout her career, Heather has worked with a wide range of people, from lawyers, accountants, chefs and surgeons to volunteers with no financial background. This has shaped her clear, jargon-free approach to communication. “There’s always someone around the table thinking, ‘I’ve no idea what they’re talking about.’ My job is to make sure they don’t feel that way,”. This ethos has served her well at CMAL, where her teams support a variety of roles ranging from vessel design specialists to harbour engineers—each with their own technical language, priorities and pressures.
Heather’s role on the Board is as much about listening as it is about leading. She is constantly picking up key details from conversations across the organisation, fact-finding, clarifying and making sure the financial implications of operational decisions are properly understood. Governance is central to this work. As a publicly funded organisation, CMAL must meet the highest standards of compliance and accountability, and Heather helps ensure it stays ahead of evolving regulations, from Companies House changes to new fraud-prevention duties.
Since joining, she has helped guide a period of significant transformation. Major IT and finance systems have been modernised, and as the scale of investment in vessels and harbours has accelerated, so too have staff numbers increased to support it. From new Islay vessels and the SVRP to electrification projects and harbour upgrades across the network, she describes the last five years as “a brilliant time to join the company. Every year brings new challenges and learnings, and five years in, I’m still learning something new.”
What motivates Heather most is CMAL’s purpose with a people-centred approach. As a regular visitor to Mull and Harris, with friends who rely on the ferry network for work and healthcare, she understands the real-life impact of lifeline services. “Everything we do is to make life better for islanders. We’re not here to make money, we’re here to make a difference. I see parallels from my time working in charities – the same sense of public mission, community impact and doing what’s right, even when it’s not straightforward.”
Behind the scenes
The Heb Isles’ legacy
In October, we bid a final farewell to MV Hebridean Isles. Affectionately known as the “Heb Isles”, she joined the service in 1985 and went on to serve the Skye Triangle, Kennacraig, Ardrossan and Brodick, Ullapool and Stornoway, Wemyss Bay and Rothesay routes during her 40-year tenure.
The Heb Isles’ legacy as a lifeline service for the island communities she served over the years doesn’t just end with her retirement. Before making her final voyage to the Smedegaarden A/S recycling yard in Esbjerg, Denmark, the vessel underwent an extensive decommissioning process at King George V Dock in Govan. During this process, her reusable and commemorative parts were carefully recovered.
Components such as the engine, pumps, alternators and gearboxes were salvaged, catalogued, and refurbished. Many of these parts are now obsolete but are still in use on board other vessels.
Take the Heb Isles’ MB275 engine, for example. It is also used onboard the MV Isle of Arran, MV Caledonian Isles, MV Lord of the Isles and the MV Isle of Mull. It was carefully removed and will be kept in storage as a working spare, should it be needed. Having back-up parts ready means that CMAL and Calmac can support repairs and relacements efficiently, extending the lifespan of other vessels and reducing waste. It’s a practical demonstration of how our asset management supports a circular economy, ensuring no usable resource goes to waste.
Beyond their technical value, the vessel’s commemorative parts have also found new homes within the communities she served. This summer, her bell was put on display at the Museum of Islay Life in Port Charlotte, Islay, while the builder’s plaque and a section of the bulwarks were given to Selby Museum, where the vessel was originally built. The clock, barometer and set of the ship’s original bibles were gifted to Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath (North Uist Historical Society) while rows of CalMac red seating and lifebuoys will be utilised in Port Ellen gardens. Additionally, the Muster list, compass card, safety signage and on/off board are on display in the waiting room of the CalMac Lochmaddy ferry terminal, allowing passengers to connect with a piece of maritime history on their travels.
As well as honouring the vessel’s history to the communities she served, the decommissioning works have also created learning opportunities for the next generation of maritime students. Several pieces of emergency and navigation equipment, including the magnetic compass housing, fire and emergency equipment lockers, have been donated to the Glasgow Nautical College. Here, they will be used as hands-on teaching materials for cadets.
While her service at sea has ended, the Heb Isles continues to give back, supporting the fleet, enriching coastal communities and inspiring future mariners. Even in retirement, a vessel that served Scotland so well continues to make a meaningful contribution to the nation’s lifeline service.
Live Harbour Webcams
Keep an eye on harbour conditions with our live webcams streaming from across the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Network of Scotland.