MV ''Canna'' is a car ferry built for

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne (), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsid ...

(CalMac) in 1975. She spent 21 years in various locations on the west of Scotland and 20 years at

Rathlin Island Rathlin Island (, ; Local Irish dialect: ''Reachraidh'', ; Scots: ''Racherie'') is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim (of which it is part) in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's northernmost point. As of the 2021 ...

, Northern Island, before moving to Arranmore.

History

MV ''Canna'' was the seventh of eight ''Island''-class ferries built for Caledonian MacBrayne. In November 2000, she was re-engined at Timbacraft, Shandon. In May 2009, MV ''Canna'' became the first Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd ship to receive its Inventory of Hazardous Materials (green passport).

Layout

The eight ''Island''-class ferries, built between 1972 and 1976, were a very simple design, based on World War II landing craft. They had a two-part folding ramp at the bow, an open-plan car deck incorporating a small turntable immediately aft, and a sheltered area of passenger accommodation at the stern. The wheelhouse was above the passenger accommodation, and the main mast was above the ramp at the bow. A radar mast sat atop the bridge, just forward of the small funnel and engine exhaust.

Service

MV ''Canna'' entered service with CalMac on the

Raasay Raasay (; ), sometimes the Isle of Raasay, is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound, Scotland, Inner Sound. It is famous fo ...

route in January 1976, initially from

Portree Portree (; , ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.W.H. Murray, Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is a civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish and lies ...

, but this soon changed to a shorter crossing from

Sconser Sconser () is a small croft (land), crofting township on the island of Skye, in Scotland, situated on the south shore of Loch Sligachan. The main A87 road, A87 road of Skye passes through Sconser and the ferry to Raasay departs from the pier. Le ...

. After only 3 months, she was moved to the

Lochaline Lochaline () is the main village in the Morvern area of Highland, Scotland. The coastal village is situated at the mouth of Loch Aline, on the northern shore of Sound of Mull, the Sound of Mull. A ferry operates regularly over to Fishnish on the ...

crossing to

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica * Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highwa ...

, where she remained for the next 10 years. In 1986, MV ''Loch Linnhe'' and then the larger replaced ''Canna''. After two years as spare vessel, ''Canna'' spent seven years crossing between Kyles Scalpay on Harris and the slipway on Scalpay - a crossing of just three minutes. In April 1997, she took over the Ballycastle -

crossing in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, replacing . She was operated by CalMac until 2008, when Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd took over the service, leasing the vessel from Caledonian Maritime Assets. After 20 years, in 2017, ''Canna'' was replaced by a new vessel, ''Spirit of Rathlin''. Her future became uncertain and she was laid up at

Burtonport or ( English name: Burtonport) is a fishing village about northwest of Dungloe in The Rosses district of County Donegal, Ireland. The main employers in the village were the Burtonport Fishermen's Co-op and the ''Bord Iascaigh Mhara'' (BIM; I ...

, alongside her sisters, and . She was bought for service at

Arranmore ''Árainn Mhór'' (English language, English name: Arranmore) is an island off the west coast of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. Arranmore is the largest inhabited island of County Donegal, wit ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, before April 2018. By January 2020, she had been upgraded for the Arranmore service along with fellow ''Island''-class ferries, ''Rhum'', , and ''Morvern''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canna Caledonian MacBrayne Ferries of Northern Ireland 1975 ships Ships built on the River Clyde