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Western Ferries News

03 Jun 2019

Cammell Laird Reveals Ro-Pax Ferry Design

Sir David Attenborough polar ship moves in Cammell Laird (Photo: Cammel Laird)

British shipyard Cammell Laird will has announced at the Nor-Shipping trade fair in Oslo ambitious plans to disrupt the new-build ferry market with a new specially designed Ro-Pax ferry.Liverpool City Region based Cammell Laird is releasing a sneak picture preview  of the commercial sensitive design ahead of a formal launch later this year and will be briefing prospective customers on the design at its stand.Cammell Laird’s project director Andy Askham said the company believes its innovative…

23 Nov 2015

Cammell Laird Seals the Deal for UK Polar Ship

NERC chief operating officer Paul Fox and Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret seal the deal in Birkenhead on November 19 (Photo: Cammell Laird)

The deal has been finalized for marine and engineering services company Cammell Laird to begin work on the U.K.’s new £200 million polar research ship. The Birkenhead shipyard Cammell Laird said it saw off competition from Europe and beyond including Korea and Singapore to be selected as the preferred bidder to build the new vessel for the government-funded Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Bosses met Friday, November 19 to sign the contract, and detailed design work gets underway immediately.

08 May 2014

Cammell Laird Environmental Package Targets Ferry Market

Photo courtesy Cammell Laird

Birkenhead shipyard and engineering services company Cammell Laird said it has developed an advanced shipyard environmental package for ferries, following its strongest year of trading in the sector. Cammell Laird said it has docked 24 ferries between 2013 and the beginning of 2014 and, in addition, has carried out a further 24 afloat repairs for ferry operators. During 2013 Cammell Laird repaired, built and converted almost 250,000 gross tons of ferry and Ro-Ro ships for a wide range of owners. Already in 2014 it has docked and repaired ferries of 150,000 gross tons.

08 Apr 2014

IPS Completes Insulation and Fabrication Contracts

Paul Smith

Birkenhead  based engineering firm IPS Marine Fabrications has completed a series of contracts for three ship operators. IPS director Paul Smith said the contracts with Whitaker Tankers, and ferry operators Seatruck and Stena showcased the broad range of fabrication and insulation skills IPS can provide. “The job spec of these contracts was really varied and shows how we can save customers time and money,” he said. “For Seatruck we supplied high temperature ceramic fiber insulation for the main engine exhausts.

22 Aug 2013

New Ferries for Clyde Crossing

Photo: Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird Shipyard built a pair of 45-car ferries and recently launched them into the River Mersey at Birkenhead. The sister ferries are the first complete vessels built at the yard in 20 years. The MV Sound of Soay and MV Sound of Seil continue the tradition of their owners, Western Ferries, of naming vessels after Scottish Sounds. Once interior details are finished and sea trails completed, the twin ferries will enter service on the company’s 2.2-nautical mile Firth of Clyde route between Gourock and Dunoon.

19 Aug 2013

Liverpool Shipyard Back in Action

Ferry naming: Photo courtesy of Cammell Laird

Big name UK shipbuilder Cammell Laird, of Birkenhead, Liverpool was proud to announce the naming of the first complete ships to be built there for 20 years. The ceremony marked the completion of a multi-million pound contract which has seen Cammell Laird build two new car ferries for Western Ferries MV Sound of Seil (Cammell Laird keel number 1387) and MV Sound of Soay (keel number 1388). The vessels continue Western Ferries tradition of naming its vessels after Scottish sounds.

16 Aug 2013

Two New Ferries Named in Liverpool

Liverpool, U.K. city region based shipyard and engineering firm Cammell Laird has hosted a formal naming ceremony for the first complete ships constructed by the company in 20 years for Scottish ferry operator Western Ferries. The ceremony marked the completion of a multi-million pound contract which has seen Birkenhead based Cammell Laird build two new car ferries for Western Ferries MV Sound of Seil (Cammell Laird keel number 1387) and MV Sound of Soay (keel number 1388). The vessels continue Western Ferries tradition of naming its vessels after Scottish sounds.

02 Apr 2013

U.K. Shipyard Returns to New Ship Construction

photos courtesy of Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Ltd. returns to shipbuilding with the construction of two RoRo car ferries at its yard in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Building to the account of Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd. the new ferries will replace two aging ferries in a four-vessel fleet that Western operates on a 2.2-nautical mile crossing of the Firth of Clyde. The new ferries will be based on designs of two ferries built in 2001 and 2003 which were recognized as being of optimum capacity, speed, fuel consumption, sea-keeping capabilities and ease of operation.

17 Aug 2012

Rolls-Royce Thrusters to Power Scottish Ferries

Photo credit Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce wins contracts to supply thrusters for two Scottish operators, Western Ferries and Orkney Ferries. Western Ferries recently announced the construction of two new ferries which will operate on the Dunoon to Gourock route, across the Firth of Clyde. The 50-metre, double ended car ferries will each be equipped with a pair of Rolls-Royce Aquamaster US 105 CRP thrusters, which rotate through 360 degrees and are particularly suited to the quick turn-round operations of these vessels.

12 Jun 2012

Liverpool Yard Wins Ferry Contract

Cammell Laird has won a multi-million contract to build two ferries that are hoping to restore the Wirral shipyard to its former glory. The firm was appointed by Western Ferries as the preferred bidder beating off competition from Europe to build the vessels for the Gourock to Dunoon route in Scotland. Western Ferries announced that the bid from the Wirral based yard have offered "crucial" and "competitive" advantages to building the two ferries in the UK. The contract means engineers on Wirral will build the first two complete vessels at the Birkenhead yard since the completion of the nuclear submarine HMS Unicorn in 1993. Cammell Laird…

08 Feb 2006

Former Western Ferries Director Paid $5.7m

Ken Cadenhead, the former managing director of privately held Western Ferries, left his post last year with $5.7 million after the company bought his 22% stake, The Herald reported. The figure implies Western Ferries, which is locked in a battle with state-subsidized Caledonian-MacBrayne for the Dunoon-Gourock route, has built itself into a company worth $26 million with just one route on the Clyde. Around 10 ferry operators are awaiting tender documents, expected to be issued next month, that could spark a bidding war for the service. Western Ferries operates the rival service to CalMac and attracts the vast majority of vehicular traffic on the route, which logs more than 600,000 car journeys a year.

14 Oct 2005

Shipyard Thrown a Lifeline

A shipyard in crisis has been thrown a lifeline after securing a major ferry contract, according to a report on the Scotsman.com. The Ferguson yard in Port Glasgow in Inverclyde was forced to lay off 100 workers earlier this year when it lost out to a Polish yard for a crucial ferry order for operators Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac). CalMac, which is publicly owned, operates the majority of sea crossings to the islands including Gourock-Dunoon, Now rival firm Western Ferries, which also operates from Dunoon to Gourock, has placed a £500,000 order for a roll on/roll off terminal with Ferguson. The new contract will see facilities at McInroy's Point in Gourock upgraded by March 2006 and is the third to be awarded by Western to the yard in as many years. (Source: Scotsman.com)