MV Cromarty Rose a small vehicle ferry operating a summer service across the Cromarty Firth

Cromarty Firth

The Cromarty Firth of Cromarty') is an arm of the North Sea in Scotland. It is the middle of the three sea lochs at the head of the Moray Firth: to the north lies the Dornoch Firth, and to the south the Beauly Firth....

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History

MV Cromarty Rose is the smallest car ferry in the UK, and the only ferry serving the Black Isle

Black Isle

The Black Isle is an eastern area of the Highland local government council area of Scotland, within the county of Ross and Cromarty. The name nearly always includes the article "the"....

, crossing the Cromarty Firth

Cromarty Firth

The Cromarty Firth of Cromarty') is an arm of the North Sea in Scotland. It is the middle of the three sea lochs at the head of the Moray Firth: to the north lies the Dornoch Firth, and to the south the Beauly Firth....

 between Nigg

Nigg Bay

Nigg Bay is a large relatively shallow sandy bay, consisting of mudflat, saltmarsh and wet grassland, located at the north east coast of the Cromarty Firth and is 5 miles to the east of Invergordon, in the district of Ross and Cromarty and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.During low...

 and Cromarty

Cromarty

The Royal Burgh of Cromarty is a burgh in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.-History:It was previously the county town of the former county of Cromartyshire...

. She is a 50 passenger, 2 car ferry built in 1987 in Ardrossan

Ardrossan

Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in south-western Scotland. The name "Ardrossan" describes its physical position — 'ard' from the Gaelic àird meaning headland, 'ros' a promontory and the diminutive suffix '-an' - headland of the little promontory...

, Scotland for Seaboard Marine (Nigg) Ltd who operated the Cromarty-Nigg service until 2001. After a tendering process, the contract passed to the Cromarty Ferry Company, who purchased the Cromarty Rose from her previous owners.

Service

Built for the Cromarty service, Cromarty Rose operated there from 1987 to 2009. Evening cruises were available for parties of between 10 and 50.

Cromarty Rose became the world's smallest drive-in floating cinema in November 2008, with a showing of The Maggie

The Maggie

The Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...

, to launch the Cromarty Film Festival.

There were some doubts about the future of the service in August 2009 following two engine failures and the resignation of the skipper over concerns about the maintenance standards of the ferry.

In February 2010, Southampton Marine Services announced that they had won a £500,000 contract to build a new ferry for the Cromarty-Nigg service. and Cromarty Rose sailed from Cromarty on 16 February 2010, bound for the Bristol Channel

Bristol Channel

The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...

, to run a service to the island of Steep Holm

Steep Holm

Steep Holm is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers at high tide, expanding to at mean low water. At its highest point it is above mean sea level. It lies within the historic boundaries of Somerset and administratively, it forms part of North Somerset...

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The new ferry, Cromarty Queen, arrived in Cromarty on 10 October 2010, but was reported to be unlikely to enter service until 2011.