MV Clansman (1964)
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MV ''Clansman'' was the second of a trio of hoist-loading car ferries built for
David MacBrayne Ltd David MacBrayne is a limited company owned by the Scottish Government. Formed in 1851 as the private shipping company David Hutcheson & Co. with three partners, David Hutcheson, Alexander Hutcheson and David MacBrayne, it passed in 1878 to David ...
in 1964 and operated on the
Mallaig Mallaig (; ) is a seaport, port in Morar, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It faces Skye from across the Sound of Sleat. The Mallaig railway station, local railway station is the terminus of the West Highlan ...
to
Armadale, Skye Armadale () is a village near the southern end of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye, in the Highland council area of Scotland. Like most of Sleat, but unlike most of Skye, the area is fairly fertile, and though there are hills, most do not ...
route for ten years. Converted to ro-ro operation, she operated on the
Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...
,
Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...
and Arran services. Underpowered and troubled by mechanical breakdowns, she was taken out of service after 20 years.


History

The
Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
ordered a trio of near-identical car ferries for the Western Isles.
Hall, Russell & Company Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland. History Brothers James and William Hall, Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and James Cardno Couper founded the company in 1864 to build steam engines and boile ...
of Aberdeen won the contract to build them, ahead of fifteen other British yards. The new ferries were initially owned by the Scottish Office and registered in Leith. They were chartered to David MacBrayne Ltd and were all equipped to serve as floating nuclear shelters, in the event of national emergency. This included vertical sliding watertight doors that could seal off the car deck, immediately aft of the hoist. ''Clansman'', the second of the trio, was launched on 16 January 1964 and entered service on 5 June 1964. To combat the limitations of hoist operation, ''Clansman'' underwent a nine-month refit at
Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...
, from October 1972, to convert her to a drive-through ferry. Hoist and side-ramps were removed and bow and stern ramps were fitted. She was lengthened by 36 feet forward of the superstructure, and her passenger accommodation was raised to increase headroom in the car deck. Twin rudders and a new 4-ton bow-thrust unit were added, and her machinery was converted to be fully bridge controlled. She emerged in the new CalMac livery, but unfortunately was not re-engined, which was ultimately to lead to her premature downfall.


Layout

As originally fitted, ''Clansman'' had a car deck that could take 50 cars. Hydraulic lifts and side-ramps allowed vehicles to drive on and off conventional piers at any state of tide. Vehicles were turned on the hoist platform and at the stern end of the vehicle deck, using manual turntables. The hoists avoided the cost of installing
linkspan A linkspan or link-span is a type of drawbridge used mainly in the operation of moving vehicles on and off a roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) vessel or ferry, particularly to allow for tidal changes in water level. Linkspans are usually found at ferry t ...
s on the piers, but the process was slow and restricted the length and weight of vehicles that could be carried. On the enclosed upper deck, there was a bright cafeteria/restaurant aft, with a substantial galley and pantry. Forward were a lounge-bar, a little shop and the pursers' office. Forward on the promenade deck was a well-fitted observation lounge, with comfortable armchairs. The interiors of ''Clansman'' were designed by John McNeece. There was ample open deck space aft of this lounge. The funnel and two lifeboats stood on the boat deck, with the bridge forward. The vessel had sleeping accommodation for 51 below the car deck. In 1973 ''Clansman'' had bow and stern doors fitted, allowing full
ro-ro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...
operation.


Service

''Clansman'' entered service on the
Mallaig Mallaig (; ) is a seaport, port in Morar, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It faces Skye from across the Sound of Sleat. The Mallaig railway station, local railway station is the terminus of the West Highlan ...
to
Armadale, Skye Armadale () is a village near the southern end of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye, in the Highland council area of Scotland. Like most of Sleat, but unlike most of Skye, the area is fairly fertile, and though there are hills, most do not ...
crossing, replacing the former Outer Isles mail steamer , which had been displaced by the arrival of . Her primary function was as a relief vessel and she was considerably under-employed on the summer Skye crossing. From June 1967, she added
Minch The Minch () is a strait in north-west Scotland that separates the mainland from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It was known as ("Scotland's firth") in Old Norse. The Minch's southern extension, which separates Skye from the middle ...
crossings to her summer roster, initially to
Lochboisdale Lochboisdale ( ) is the main village and port on the island of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Lochboisdale is within the parish of South Uist, and is situated on the shore of Loch Baghasdail at the southern end of the A865. History The ...
, and from 1971 to
Castlebay Castlebay ( ) is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The village is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean dominated by Kisimul Castl ...
. In 1969, ''Clansman'' become the first MacBrayne vessel to circumnavigate Britain when she sailed to London for a ten-day "Highland Fling" extravaganza thrown by the
Highlands and Islands Development Board Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...
. For five months in early 1970 she had a yellow funnel while on charter to the CSP, operating between
Gourock Gourock ( ; ) is a town in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a resort town, seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its ma ...
and
Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...
, awaiting the new . 1971 saw varied service, with a temporary service from
Oban Oban ( ; meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, Highland, Fort William. During the tourist seaso ...
to
Port Askaig Port Askaig () is a port village on the east coast of the island of Islay, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The village lies on the Sound of Islay (Caol Ìle) across from Jura. Economy Port Askaig has a hotel, a petrol station and shop next to th ...
and
Colonsay Colonsay (; ; ) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Isle of Mull, Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argyll and Bute and ...
, and relief on the Inner Isles Mail. Following her 1972/73 rebuild at the Ailsa yard in Troon, ''Clansman'' took over the new
Ullapool Ullapool (; ) is a village and port located in the civil parish of Lochbroom in the county of Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. It is located around northwest of Inverness. According to the Scottish Government in 2016, the village had a ...
to
Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...
car ferry service, inaugurated earlier in 1973 by . The service was disrupted when ''Iona'' suffered an engine failure in June 1973 and ''Clansman'' was rushed to the Minch while work continued on board and soon broke down herself. Eventually, the service settled down, but ''Clansman'' was both vulnerable to serious weather and too slow and by 1974 was replaced by the new . ''Clansman'' spent several seasons on the
Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...
crossing, before moving to Arran. ''Clansman'' continued to deputise on the Ullapool to Stornoway service throughout the 1970s and early 1980s while ''Suilven'' went for overhaul. Withdrawn from service following a serious mechanical breakdown in March 1984, ''Clansman'' was sold to Torbay Seaways for a new service to the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
. The inability to construct a
linkspan A linkspan or link-span is a type of drawbridge used mainly in the operation of moving vehicles on and off a roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) vessel or ferry, particularly to allow for tidal changes in water level. Linkspans are usually found at ferry t ...
, led to her sister, running the service. ''Clansman'' was sold to Maltese owners for
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
service. Her last entry in
Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...
was in 1994–95.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clansman Caledonian MacBrayne Ships built in Aberdeen 1964 ships Ships built by Hall, Russell & Company