MV ''Ali Cat'' is a motor

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

passenger ferry owned by

Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited 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 ...

and operated by Caledonian MacBrayne, which along with provides a service from

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 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 ...

History

MV ''Ali Cat'' was built in 2000 for Solent & Wightline Cruises, who chartered her to

Blue Funnel Group Blue Funnel Group refers to a related set of companies providing boat charter, cruise and ferry services around the Solent and Isle of Wight in vessels up to 500 passengers. The Blue Funnel Cruises operating out of Southampton Port and the S ...

. They in turn chartered her to Caledonian MacBrayne for the

to Gourock service. She entered service on 21 October 2002 to run at peak times, carrying up to 250 passengers. The run had previously been served at peak times by two car ferries, one of which went down the

at quieter times to assist on the

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

Wemyss Bay Wemyss Bay (; ) is a town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Inverclyde in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the traditional county of Renfrewshire. It is adjacent to Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire. The town and villages have always ...

service which only had a 90-minute service at peak times. Introduction of the ''Ali Cat'' for the winter 2002-03 timetable met morning and evening commuter demand on the Dunoon run, releasing the peak period car ferry to improve the Rothesay service. At first the catamaran had occasional difficulties with winter weather making embarking at Dunoon hazardous and leading to cancellations. The service was subsequently extended to cover summer timetables, and construction of a breakwater in 2004 overcame the problems at Dunoon pier. From 30 June 2011, the

to Gourock crossing became a passenger-only service operated by

Argyll Ferries Ltd Argyll Ferries Ltd was a ferry company formed in January 2011 by the Scottish Governments department of Transport Scotland via the parent company David MacBrayne Ltd to tender for the Dunoon-to-Gourock public service route. Argyll Ferries were a ...

(a sister company to Caledonian MacBrayne). ''Ali Cat'' was purchased outright and continues to ply the route.

Layout

''Ali Cat'' is a motor

. A bar serves the covered accommodation, and passengers can also use the open upper deck. She can maintain a speed of , but the service speed is around

Service

MV ''Ali Cat'' provides a passenger-only service between Gourock and

. At special weekends in the past she has supplemented the CalMac

service. Following the withdrawal of the Caledonian MacBrayne Gourock-Dunoon vehicle service on 29 June 2011, ''Ali Cat'' formed part of the new contract for the passenger-only service on this route, operated by

and using the new pier at Dunoon. As well as being repainted in Argyll Ferries livery, a fold-down ramp was added at the stern, enabling foot passenger use of the

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 ...

vehicle ramps at both ferry terminals. From 21 January 2019 the Argyll Ferries service was transferred by Transport Scotland into the existing Caledonian MacBrayne Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract,
and from 12 November 2019 ''Ali Cat'' was seen in CalMac livery.

Footnotes

Caledonian MacBrayne 1999 ships Ferries of Scotland {{ferry-stub