MV ''Loch Sunart'' (ex-''Gemeente Pont 23'' then ''Sound of Scalpay'') was a car and passenger ferry, originally operated in Amsterdam, and then by

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 ...

across the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

between

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 ...

and

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

until October 2013. In 2018, ''Loch Sunart'' was converted into an ROV support vessel and is now owned by Caldive.

History

'' Gemeente Pont 23'' was built in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

, Netherlands in 1962, for Amsterdam City Council. In the mid 1990s, she and her near sister ''Gemeente Pont 24'' were purchased by Western Ferries for service on the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

. They were overhauled at

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

and renamed ''Sound of Scalpay'' and ''Sound of Sanda'' before entering service at McInroy's Point. On the acquisition of two brand new ferries in October 2013, ''Scalpay'' and ''Sound of Sanda'' were sold to The Underwater Centre,

Fort William, Highland Fort William ( gd, An Gearasdan ; "The Garrison") formerly ( gd, Baile Mairi) and ( gd, Gearasdan dubh Inbhir-Lochaidh) (Lit. "The Black Garrison of Inverlochy"), ( sco, The Fort), formerly ( sco, Maryburgh) is a town in Lochaber in the Scottish ...

for conversion to dive barges for the training of commercial divers. ''Scalpay'' was converted into an ROV support vessel and renamed ''Loch Sunart''. In October 2018, The Underwater Centre ceased trading and entered administration. ''Loch Sunart'' was purchased at auction by Caldive of Invergordon at the start of 2019 and laid up with her sister ship ''Loch Scavaig'' at Fort William.

Layout

''Sound of Scalpay'' had a single car deck with bow and stern ramps. The crossing was so short that many passengers stayed in their vehicles, but side viewing decks and passenger cabins were available.

Service

''Gemeentepont 23'' operated from Amsterdam CS to Buiksloterweg in

Amsterdam-Noord Amsterdam-Noord (; ) is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands with a population of about 90,000. The IJ, the body of water which separates it from Amsterdam-Centrum and the rest of the city, is situated southwest of Amsterdam-Noord. The borough, whi ...

(now route NH25) between 1962 and 1994. In July 1995, as ''Sound of Scalpay'', she entered service on

Clyde service between McInroy's Point (

) and Hunters Quay (

), replacing the former Sealink ferry ''Sound of Seil''. ''Scalpay'' and ''Sanda'' operated this service until 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loch Sunart Ferries of Scotland 1962 ships Ships built in the Netherlands Ferries of the Netherlands