MV ''Loch Scavaig'' (ex ''Sound of Sanda'') was a car and passenger ferry, operated until October 2013 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 ...

. In 2018, ''Loch Scavaig'' was converted into a saturation dive support vessel and is now owned by Caldive.

History

''Sound of Sanda'' was built in Walsum, Duisburg, Germany in 1963, for Amsterdam City Council. In the mid 1990s, she and her near sister ''Sound of Scalpay'' were purchased by Western Ferries and 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 ...

before entering service as ''Sound of Scalpay'' and a second '' Sound of Sanda''. The earlier ''Sound of Sanda'', as , had previously been an

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

ferry. ''Sound of Sanda'' entered service with Western Ferries in 1996. On the acquisition of two brand new ferries in October 2013, ''Sanda'' along with her sister ship ''Sound of Scalpay'' were disposed of by Western Ferries. Both vessels 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. From January to June 2018, she was converted into a saturation dive vessel, funded by

Subsea 7 Subsea 7 S.A. is a Luxembourgish-domiciled subsea engineering, construction and services company serving the offshore energy industry. The company is registered in Luxembourg with its headquarters in London. History The company was formed by the ...

and

TechnipFMC TechnipFMC plc ( ) is a French-American, UK-domiciled global oil and gas company that provides complete project life cycle services for the energy industry. It was ranked 23rd among world's Top 225 International Design Firms in the year 2017 by E ...

. She was renamed ''Loch Scavaig'' but was only in service for 3 months until October 2018 when The Underwater Centre ceased trading and entered administration with the loss of 48 jobs in the Fort William area. ''Loch Scavaig'' was purchased at auction by Caldive of Invergordon at the start of 2019 and is currently laid up with her sister ship ''Loch Sunart'' (ex ''Sound of Scalpay'', built in 1961 and converted to a ROV support vessel). She has recently taken part in some subsea trials.

Layout

''Sound of Sanda'' 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 24'' 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 1963 and 1996. As ''Sound of Sanda'', she operated

Clyde service between McInroy's Point (

) and Hunters Quay (

) until 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loch Scavaig Ferries of Scotland Ferries of the Netherlands 1963 ships Ships built in Germany