MV Arran was a pioneering Clyde vehicle ferry introduced by Caledonian Steam Packet Company

Caledonian Steam Packet Company

The Caledonian Steam Packet Company provided a scheduled shipping service, carrying freight and passengers, on the west coast of Scotland. Formed in 1889 to complement the services of the Caledonian Railway, the company expanded by taking over rival ferry companies...

 in 1953. She spent fifteen years on the Upper Clyde crossings, followed by five years at Islay

Islay

-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...

. Initially hoist-loading, via side ramps, these were replaced by a stern ramp in 1973. During her final years with Calmac, she relieved across the network. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to turn her into a floating restaurant

Floating restaurant

A floating restaurant is a kind of vessel which is usually a type of steel barge used as a restaurant on water. For example, the Jumbo Palace at Aberdeen in Hong Kong is one such restaurant. Sometimes retired ships are given a second lease on life as floating restaurants. The former car ferry New...

, before she was finally scrapped in 1993.

History

MV Arran was the first of a trio of vehicle vessels ordered in 1951 to modernise the Clyde fleet. Three "general purpose" vessels were planned for the Clyde routes of their names, Arran, and . It rapidly became apparent that greater capacity was required in the summer and winter relief. was launched in 1957. Built by William Denny

William Denny and Brothers

William Denny and Brothers Limited, and often referred to simply as Denny, were a Scottish shipbuilding company.-History:The Company was founded by Peter Denny in 1840 and based in Dumbarton, on the River Clyde. Although the Denny yard was situated near the junction of the River Clyde and the River...

, she was launched from their Dumbarton yard on 22 September 1953, the last Clyde vessel to be launched there. The previous Arran of 1933 was renamed Kildonan, to release the name - she was scrapped on arrival of in 1957.

Layout

MV Arrans passenger accommodation consisted of a large lounge and a tearoom above, and a bar below, the car deck. The bridge was above the upper deck, allowing passengers unobstructed views forward. Officer and crew accommodation was below the bridge and at the stern. She was initially fitted with electric hoists and side-ramps to allow the loading of vehicles from conventional piers and at any state of tide. The 14-ton cargo lift had space for five average cars, which were turned on two 14-foot turntables on the lift and a further one at the front of the "garage". An aft cargo hold had two 7-ton derricks for cargo handling. These were removed in 1958 and the hold plated over, to provide additional car deck area.

In November 1969, she underwent a £40,000-refit at Lamont's. The tearoom was upgraded to a cafeteria/restaurant with a proper galley. The observation lounge was refurbished and additional crew cabins were provided. Watertight doors were fitted forward of the hoist and the side ramps were remodelled to better fit piers on her new service at Islay

Islay

-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...

. She lost her Caley lions and was repainted in MacBrayne colours, although only briefly operated by that company.

At her next major refit, costing £100,000, in April 1973 she took the new CalMac colour-scheme and a stern-loading configuration. A new stern ramp replaced the hoist and side-ramps. The aft crew accommodation was transferred below-decks, displacing the bar into the lounge.

Service

MV Arran entered service on the Gourock

Gourock

Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde...

 to Dunoon

Dunoon

Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...

 crossing in 1954. For fifteen years, she remained in the upper Clyde: Gourock to Dunoon; Wemyss Bay

Wemyss Bay

Wemyss Bay is a village on the coast of the Firth of Clyde falling within the Inverclyde council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The name may derive from the Gaelic uaimh, meaning 'cave'...

 to Rothesay

Rothesay, Argyll and Bute

The town of Rothesay is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay which offers an onward rail link to Glasgow. At the centre of the town is Rothesay Castle, a ruined castle which dates back to the 13th...

 and Wemyss Bay (or Largs

Largs

Largs is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" in Scottish Gaelic....

) to Millport

Millport, Isle of Cumbrae

Millport is the only town on the island of Great Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde off the coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The town is four miles south from the Largs-based Caledonian MacBrayne ferry slipway....

. She relieved as the Arran car ferry.

From January 1970, Arran was based at West Loch Tarbert

West Loch Tarbert, Argyll

West Loch Tarbert, Argyll is a long and narrow sea loch on the western side of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland.-Geography:The head of the loch lies near the village of Tarbert and it reaches the open sea at Ardpatrick Point some distant....

 and gave two weekday return sailings daily, one each to Port Ellen

Port Ellen

Port Ellen is a small town on the island of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland.Port Ellen is named after the wife of the founder, Frederick Campbell of Islay. Its previous name, Leòdamas, is derived from old Norse meaning "Leòd's Harbour"....

 and Port Askaig

Port Askaig

Port Askaig is a port village on the east coast of the island of Islay, in Scotland.-Transport:Port Askaig serves as the main port of Islay, sharing passenger services to the Scottish mainland with Port Ellen...

. She also called at Craighouse

Craighouse

Craighouse is the main settlement on the Scottish Inner Hebridean Isle of Jura. The village is situated on the sheltered east coast of Jura at the southern end of Small Isles Bay....

 (Jura

Jura, Scotland

Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...

) (until October 1970), Gigha

Gigha

The Isle of Gigha is a small island off the west coast of Kintyre in Scotland. The island forms part of Argyll and Bute and has a population of about 150 people, many of whom speak Scottish Gaelic. The climate is mild with higher than average sunshine hours and the soils are fertile.Gigha has a...

 and Colonsay

Colonsay

Colonsay is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, located north of Islay and south of Mull and has an area of . It is the ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeill. Aligned on a south-west to north-east axis, it measures in length and reaches at its widest...

. Once in stern-loading layout, she assumed three double crossings a day between modified at terminals at Port Ellen and West Loch Tarbert. Port Askaig was abandoned to Western Ferries

Western Ferries

Western Ferries is a private ferry company with its headquarters in Dunoon, Scotland. It currently operates on the River Clyde running a year-round, high-frequency service between Hunters Quay and Gourock in Inverclyde.-History:...

. In West Loch Tarbert, she was able to stern load off a mild concrete slope with no linkspan

Linkspan

A linkspan or link-span is a type of drawbridge used mainly in the operation of moving vehicles on and off a RO-RO vessel or ferry.Linkspans are usually found at ferry terminals where a vessel uses a combination of ramps either at the stern, bow or side to load or unload cars, vans, trucks and...

, as tides are so slight.

took over the Islay

Islay

-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...

 service on 14 August 1974, and Arran became a spare vessel, relieving regularly on both the Clyde and the Western Isles. A starboard side-ramp was re-fitted at the 1975 overhaul, so she could relieve at Dunoon

Dunoon

Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...

. She was in service throughout the winters, relieving at Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

, Mallaig

Mallaig

Mallaig ; is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line , completed in 1901, and the town is linked to Fort William by the A830 road – the "Road to the Isles".The village of Mallaig...

 and Islay. She spent her final summers on standby at Gourock, frequently carrying gas tankers to Rothesay. The arrival of the new effectively made Arran (and ) redundant. , and were all available for relief. Arran gave her last CalMac sailing, from Tiree

Tiree

-History:Tiree is known for the 1st century BC Dùn Mòr broch, for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Ceann a' Mhara headland....

 to Tobermory on 19 July 1979 and was laid up in the East India Harbour, Greenock.

She was sold to Orisot Ltd on 2 September 1981 as a floating restaurant-nightclub. She was berthed in Dublin, and underwent a refit costing £750,000. Superstructure, including a helicopter pad, was built up aft, over the former car deck. In 1983, the enterprise was abandoned. In December 1986 she was towed to Salford Quays

Salford Quays

Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in...

, Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, for a similar venture (possibly as "Resolution"), again without success. The pioneering Clyde vehicle ferry was finally broken up in January 1993.