![Argyll-Ferries-110709](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Argyll-Ferries-110709.jpg)
Argyll Ferries Ltd was a ferry company formed in January 2011 by the
Scottish Governments
This is a list of all Scottish Parliaments and Governments (called the ''Scottish Executive'' from 1999 until 2008) the time of the introduction of devolved government for Scotland in 1999.
List
See also
*List of First Ministers of Scotl ...
department of
Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland ( gd, Còmhdhail Alba) is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government.
Organisat ...
via the parent company
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 ...
to tender for the
Dunoon
Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of 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 ...
-to-
Gourock
Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...
public service route. Argyll Ferries were announced as the preferred bidder at the end of May 2011, contracts were exchanged on 7 June 2011 for the service, the service then commenced 23 days later on 30 June 2011.
The Argyll Ferries service has suffered from cancellations due to technical problems, or limitations of the small vessels in unfavourable weather. When this occurs, the ferry company provides a relief bus service taking passengers from
Gourock railway station and pierhead to their destination via the
Western Ferries
Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd (also known as Western Ferries) is a private ferry company with its headquarters in Hunters Quay, Scotland. It currently operates on the Firth of Clyde running a year-round, high-frequency vehicle carrying service be ...
Hunters Quay
Hunters Quay ( gd, Camas Rainich) is a village, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Situated between Kirn to the south and Ardnadam to the north, Hunters Quay is the main base of Western Ferries, operating between Hunt ...
to
McInroy's Point
Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a ...
ferry.
In winter since 2016, the larger CalMac ferry
MV ''Coruisk'' is redeployed to Gourock for peak sailings, and provides a relief service when conditions are too severe for the smaller boats.
From 21 January 2019 the Argyll Ferries service was transferred by Transport Scotland into the existing
Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...
Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract, continuing with the same staff and boats. CalMac branding was introduced over the following months, and Transport Scotland were to reconsider vessel and service requirements at some stage.
Fleet
![1100703 Clyde Clipper](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/1100703_Clyde_Clipper.jpg)
Argyll Ferries Ltd operates two passenger vessels on the route, and . Both are leased from their owner
Caledonian Maritime Assets
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (usually shortened to CMAL or CMAssets; Stòras Mara Cailleannach Earr in Scottish Gaelic) owns the ferries, ports, harbours and infrastructure for the ferry services serving the west coast of Scotland, the Fir ...
. Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) had previously run the on a 9-year lease from Isle of Wight Cruises but she was bought outright for the new service. The , formerly the ten-year-old Irish ferry, ''Banríon Chonamara'', was purchased specifically for the new service.
When the service began on 30 June 2011, preparation of the ''Argyll Flyer'' had been held up by broken rear prop shafts. As an interim measure the cruise boat was leased from Clyde Cruises to start the service. She suffered breakdowns during the first day,
then continued in interim service alongside the other two ferries for a short period.
In the past, ferries operated by
Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...
have provided additional support on the route; notably the during the Cowal Gathering in August 2011 and the in December 2013.
Route
![Argyll Ferries 170214 1248](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Argyll_Ferries_170214_1248.jpg)
The service operates between a vehicle linkspan at the breakwater in
Dunoon
Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of 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 ...
town centre and a vehicle linkspan in
Gourock
Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...
town centre immediately adjacent to Gourock rail terminal. Regular trains to Glasgow Central via Paisley are available from the train station.
Dunoon is located on the
Cowal
Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde.
The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...
Peninsula. The service by Argyll Ferries saves journey time as the road route along
Loch Eck
Loch Eck (Gaelic: ''Loch Eich'') is a freshwater loch located on the Cowal peninsula, north of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is long. Along with Loch Lomond, it is the only naturally occurring habitat of the Powan (fish).Freyhof, J. & ...
(
A815 road) side,
Rest and be thankful (
A83 road
The A83 is a major road in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland, running from Tarbet, on the western shore of Loch Lomond, where it splits from the A82, to Campbeltown at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula.
Route
From Tarbet the A8 ...
) and
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
(
A82 road
The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William, Highland, Fort William. It is one of the principal north-south routes in Scotland and is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it a ...
) side, is a far longer journey.
Contract
A previous report by Deloitte Touche on options for the route stated that, for a passenger only service, "Large hulls are required to suit Upper Clyde water, but the vessels would be fitted out to accommodate only 150 people, which would meet the requirements of passenger traffic on most days of the year." Concerns were expressed about the suitability of these small boats in rough weather. However a spokesman for the parent company of the ferry operators,
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 ...
, gave assurances that the ferries were suitable, and would have the advantage of using the new sheltered berth at Dunoon instead of the
old pier, which is more exposed.
![Argyll Ferries 170214 1315](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Argyll_Ferries_170214_1315.jpg)
The service is operated under a Public Service Contract produced by
Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland ( gd, Còmhdhail Alba) is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government.
Organisat ...
, a department of the
Scottish Government. The contract permits sailings that fail to take place due to safety considerations including adverse weather to be counted as if they had sailed for the purposes of reliability under the contract, subject to due diligence to minimise such delays. The contract also permits each boat to have two weeks per year of scheduled maintenance therefore, since there is no provision for relief vessels, a half service operates for at least four weeks each year.
Performance updates
![Argyll Ferries 1702141302](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Argyll_Ferries_1702141302.jpg)
In November 2011 the service suffered 88 weather-related cancellations, with 138 such cancellations in December. Figures indicated cancellation or disruption of 3.6% of sailings since July. In response to complaints from passengers, the
Scottish Government cabinet secretary
Alex Neil said the service was "not fit for purpose" and said he had asked the company to produce an improvement plan.
In March 2012 Argyll Ferries announced performance figures for February and March. They stated that the service had been very reliable contractually, showing good punctuality, and said that passenger numbers were beginning to increase. In April the service cancelled 99 sailings
Weather and technical failures continue to be problematic in 2014,
2015,
and 2016, with continued numerous service cancellations.
![Storm Erik with ferries at Gourock pier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Storm_Erik_with_ferries_at_Gourock_pier.jpg)
The larger MacBrayne ferry
MV ''Coruisk'' had already been used for peak sailings and for relief sailings when available, in December 2016 Transport Minister
Humza Yousaf
Humza Haroon Yousaf (born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since 2021. He is the first non-white and first Muslim cabinet minister in the Scottish Government. A member of the Sco ...
announced that this ferry was being redeployed to Gourock for winter sailings.
Amalgamation
![Ali Cat in CalMac livery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Ali_Cat_in_CalMac_livery.jpg)
At the end of 2018
Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland ( gd, Còmhdhail Alba) is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government.
Organisat ...
decided to incorporate the Argyll Ferries service into the existing
Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...
Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract, the transition took place on 21 January 2019. There would be no immediate changes to the service which was to continue with the same staff and boats, uniforms and livery of the boats would change to CalMac branding at a future date to minimise disruption. Transport Scotland stated that they would reconsider future vessel and service requirements.
References
External links
Argyll Ferries Ltd - Official website
{{Scottish Executive Nationalised Industries
Ferry companies of Scotland
Transport in Argyll and Bute
Transport in Dunoon
Companies based in Inverclyde
2011 establishments in Scotland
Transport companies established in 2011
David MacBrayne
Cowal
Firth of Clyde