- Caledonian MacBrayne
Infobox Company
name = Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd
slogan =
type = Public (State-Owned)
genre =
foundation = 1851
founder =
location_city =
location_country =
location =Gourock ,Scotland
locations =
area_served =River Clyde ,Outer Hebrides ,Inner Hebrides Ballycastle ,Northern Ireland
key_people =
industry =Transport
products =
services =Ferries
market c
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
assets =
equity =
owner =Scottish Government
num_employees =
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
homepage = http://www.calmac.co.uk/
footnotes =
intl =Caledonian MacBrayne (usually shortened to Cal Mac; Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn in
Scottish Gaelic ) is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries between the mainland ofScotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast. It is publicly owned and controlled by theScottish Government .History
MacBrayne's, initially known as David Hutcheson & Co., began in 1851 as a private steamship operator when G. and J. Burns, operators of the largest of the Clyde fleets, decided to concentrate on coastal and transatlantic services and handed control of their river and Highland steamers to a new company in which Hutcheson, their manager of these services, became senior partner. Their main route went from
Glasgow down theFirth of Clyde through theCrinan Canal toOban and Fort William, and on through theCaledonian Canal toInverness . With the retirement of its founders in the 1870s, their partner (and nephew of Messrs. Burns) David MacBrayne gained full ownership, and changed the company's name accordingly. It remained in the hands of the MacBrayne family until 1928 when, unable to carry on, it was acquired jointly by the LMS Railway and Coast Lines. Its ships featured red funnels with a black top.The
Caledonian Railway at first used the services of various early private operators ofClyde steamer s, then began operating steamers on its own account on1 January 1889 to compete better with theNorth British Railway and theGlasgow and South Western Railway . It extended its line to bypass the G & SW "Prince's Pier" atGreenock and continue on to the fishing village ofGourock , where they had purchased the harbour. After years of fierce competition between all the fleets, the Caledonian and G & SW were merged in 1923 into theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and their fleets amalgamated into the Caledonian Steam Packet Co., their funnels being painted yellow with a black top. At the same time the North British Railway fleet became part of theLNER (which built the "Waverley" in 1947). With nationalisation in 1948 the LMS and LNER fleets were amalgamated underBritish Railways with the name "Clyde Shipping Services". In 1957 a reorganisation restored the CSP name, and in 1965 a red lion was added to each side of the black-topped yellow funnels. The headquarters remained at Gourock pierhead.At the end of December 1968 management of the CSP passed to the
Scottish Transport Group , which gained control of MacBrayne's the following June. The MacBrayne service from Gourock toArdrishaig ended on30 September 1969 , leaving the Clyde entirely to the CSP.On
1 January 1973 the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. acquired most of the ships and routes of MacBrayne's and commenced joint Clyde and West Highland operations under the new name of Caledonian MacBrayne, with a combined headquarters at Gourock. Funnels were now painted red with a black top, and a yellow circle at the side of the funnel featuring the red Caledonian lion. In 1990 the ferry business was spun off as a separate company, keeping the Caledonian MacBrayne brand, and shares were issued in the company. All shares were owned by the state, first in the person of theSecretary of State for Scotland , and (afterdevolution ) by the Scottish Executive.A joint venture between Caledonian MacBrayne and the
Royal Bank of Scotland named "Northlink Orkney and Shetland Ferries" won the tender for the subsidisedNorthern Isles services, previously run byP&O Scottish Ferries , commencing in 2002. The ambitious programme ran into financial difficulties, and the service was again put out to tender. Caledonian MacBrayne won this tender, and formed a separate company called NorthLink Ferries Limited which began operating the Northern Isles ferry service on6 July 2006 .cite web |url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/briefings-07/SB07-56.pdf |title=Ferry Services in Scotland |accessdate=2007-11-17 |author=Alan Rehfisch |date=2007 |format= pdf |work=SPICe Briefing |publisher=Scottish Parliament Information Centre]To meet the requirements of
European Union Community guidelines on State aids to maritime transport, the company's routes were put out to open tender. To enable competitive bidding on an equal basis, Caledonian MacBrayne was split into two separate companies on1 October 2006 . Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) retained ownership of CalMac vessels and infrastructure, including harbours, while CalMac Ferries Ltd submitted tenders to be the ferry operator. Their bid for the main bundle, "Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services", succeeded and on1 October 2007 CalMac Ferries Ltd began operating these services on a six year contract. TheGourock toDunoon service was the subject of a separate tender, but no formal bids were made. In an interim arrangement CalMac Ferries Ltd continues to provide a subsidised service on this route.cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7003837.stm |title=BBC NEWS : Scotland : Highlands and Islands : CalMac ferry contract confirmed |accessdate=2007-11-17 |date=2007-09-20 ]Business
The company enjoys a de-facto monopoly on the shipment of freight and vehicles to the islands, and competes for passenger traffic with number of aircraft services of varying quality and reliability. Nonetheless, few if any of the routes currently operated by Cal-Mac are profitable, and the company receives significant government subsidies due to its vital role in supplying the islands - these routes are classified as "lifeline" services. In 1996 Cal-Mac opened its first route outwith Scotland, winning a ten year contract to provide a lifeline service to
Rathlin Island inNorthern Ireland .Various versions of a local poem refer to MacBrayne's long dominance of Hebridean sailings:
"The Earth belongs unto the Lord"
"And all that it contains"
"Except the Kyles and the Western Isles"
"And they are all MacBrayne's"Several groups have proposed privatising the service, and there has been a long commercial and political struggle with a privately owned company,
Western Ferries , who have run a rival, unsubsidised service fromGourock to Hunters Quay (nearDunoon ) since 1973. In 2005 the Scottish Executive put out tocompetitive tender , the collective routes to the Hebrides as a block, with the Dunoon route being a separate tender. [cite web| url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2005/09/21123117| title=Proposals for Gourock-Dunoon ferry route| publisher=Scottish Executive| date=2005-09-21| accessdate=2007-08-29] Three operators submitted bids for the routes [cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4553462.stm| title=Contest narrows for CalMac routes| date=2005-12-23| work=BBC | accessdate=2007-08-29] with Cal-Mac bidding to retain all its existing routes. The Executive will decide in 2006 to whom to award the contracts; successful bidders will run the services on a similar "lifeline" basis to Cal-Mac, and would receive subsidies from the Executive. In September 2006, one of the three interested operators withdrew its interest in the (separate) Gourock to Dunoon route.V. Ships pulled out, leaving only Cal-Mac and Western Ferries to tender for this busy crossing.Some island and union groups oppose the tendering process, fearing it would lead to cuts in services and could be a prelude to full privatisation. Whilst other islanders, visitors and actual ferry users fear the lack of competition and an every growing state ferry monopoly dominating all Scottish waters.
During the tendering period, the company of David MacBrayne Ltd., which had been legally dormant for many years, was re-activated on 4th July 2006. David MacBrayne Group Ltd. acquired the full share capital of Northlink Ferries Ltd., and took over operations of the Northlink routes on 6th July 2006. During September 2006, David MacBrayne Group Ltd., acquired the entire share capital of CalMac Ferries Ltd. In August 2006, David MacBrayne Group Ltd., directed two of its subsidiary companies, Cowal Ferries Ltd., and Rathlin Ferries Ltd., to take over operation of the Gourock to Dunoon, and Rathlin to Ballycastle services. Thus, from leaving the hands of David MacBrayne 68 years earlier in 1928, the west coast ferry service returned to the fold in 2006 vastly enlarged.
Routes
(The latter is the company's first (and only) service in
Northern Ireland .);Other Vessels:MV "Juno" has been decommissioned and is without a licence:MV "Lord of the Isles" is spare vessel based in Oban
Current fleet
Calmac has 29 vessels in current service. There are 8 'major units' - ships of 80 m or more in length. The largest ship is the MV "Isle of Lewis" at 101 m in length. The others are MV "Clansman", MV "Hebrides", MV "Caledonian Isles", MV "Isle of Mull", MV "Hebridean Isles", MV "Isle of Arran" and MV "Lord of the Isles".
There are 13 "Loch Class" vessels in the company, in different shapes and sizes. These are double-ended ferries with no operational bow or stern (although in official documents the designation of such is given). They are usually symmetrical in shape when viewed from the side.
Calmac's smallest vessels are the 22.5 m "Island Class" ships. They were built as the predecessors to the "Loch Class" and are now slowly being taken out of service. Only three of the original 8 remain in the fleet.
The company is adapting to the demands of 21st century. In 2007 MV "Bute" (built in 2005 in Gdansk, Poland) was joined on the
Wemyss Bay / Rothesay route by an almost identical sister, MV "Argyle". A new "super loch", MV "Loch Shira" was built for theLargs /Cumbrae route, entering service in 2007. A new vessel is expected on the Islay service in Spring 2011. This has been ordered from the Remontowa Yard in Gdansk, Poland for £24.5 million. The new vessel will be 89.90m long and capable of 16.5 knots. The vessel is designed to carry 550 passengers, up to 88 cars, as well as coaches, cars and commercial vehicles. The vessel will also be capable of carrying dangerous goods. [cite web| url=http://www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk/ships_timeline.asp| title=History of the Fleet| publisher=Ships of the Clyde.co.uk| accessdate=2007-08-29] [cite web| url=http://www.remontowa.net/index_en.php?n=477| title=Remontowa wins newbuilding order for another ferry to be operated by CalMac Ferries Ltd.| publisher=Remontowa SA| accessdate=2008-08-02]Footnotes
References
* Clyde Pleasure Steamers - Ian McCrorie, Orr, Pollock & Co. Ltd., Greenock, ISBN 1-869850-00-9
* Steamers of the Highlands and Islands - Ian McCrorie, Orr, Pollock & Co. Ltd., Greenock,, ISBN 1-869850-01-7
* To the Coast: One Hundred Years of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. - Ian McCrorie, Fairlie Press, Fairlie 1989, ISBN 1-871209-01-3
* The Kingdom of MacBrayne - Nick S. Robins and Donald E. Meek., Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh 2006, ISBN 1-84158-500-9
* Days At The Coast - Robert Preston., Stenlake Publishing, Ochiltree 1994, ISBN 1-872074-42-1External links
* [http://www.calmac.co.uk/ CalMac (Official) Corporate Homepage]
* [http://www.calmacbookings.co.uk/booking/asp/web090.asp CalMac online bookings]
* [http://www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk/ Ships of CalMac] - The History of the Fleet Online (Unofficial)
* [http://www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk/ships_timeline.asp Ships of the Fleet] - A list of all past and present vessels.
* [http://www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk/history_timeline.asp History of the company]
* [http://www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk/h_jupiter.asp History of Jupiter] Rivalry on the Dunoon route.
* [http://www.aetours.co.uk/waverley1/ Paddle Steamer Waverley Virtual Tour]
* [http://www.calmacferries.net Calmac Ferries Photo Blog]
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