If you had been lucky enough to be lounging on a Turkish beach in the past few days, you could have been forgive for doing a double take after seeing a CalMac ferry ferry float by.

The first of two new vessels which will serve the Outer Hebrides has been successfully launched in Turkey, and is a huge step forward in the bid to end the ongoing woes of the network of late.

It is also fairly ironic that you probably have more chance of seeing the well-known black and white livery of the CalMac fleet in the Med than you would up and down the west coast of Scotland, given the unreliability of the fleet.

MV Lochmor is being built for CalMac at the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Yalova and will provide a two-vessel service to the routes between Uig on Skye, Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist.

A community event will be held in Tarbert next year, where local residents and stakeholders will be invited on board to tour the new vessel and celebrate its addition to the fleet.

Actually, given the recent problems, locals would be forgiven for launching an entire festival to celebrate the ship’s arrival, rather than just a mere event.

She can accommodate up to 450 passengers and 100 cars, or 14 commercial vehicles, bringing a major boost to capacity and resilience for the communities she will serve.

The contract was awarded to Cemre Marin Endustri in February 2023, with state-owned Ferguson Marine not bidding for the tender.

The ferry was........

© Herald Scotland