Claymore IV

January 2023 saw the contract for two further new ferries being awarded to the Cemre shipyard in Turkey, on the back of the previous order for two new ships for Islay. Like Isle of Islay and Loch Indaal, the new contract was for traditional marine diesel fuelled vessels - a wide berth once again being given towards LNG.

Names were chosen for the Uig twins in a competition in autumn 2023, with the results being announced on 30th November. Claymore was allocated to the third vessel in the class, reviving a name used previously on a traditional mail steamer serving the Outer Isles and more recently the ferry built in 1978 for the combined Oban - Castlebay - Lochboisdale service. Construction of Lochmor commenced in September 2023 when the first steel was cut.

Drawings produced to date suggest the passenger accessible spaces and crew accommodation will be located on two decks, with an open deck accessible at the stern and between the funnels. Sadly there is no forward deck space like there is on Hebridean Isles and Isle of Arran. The car deck is open plan layout with 5 lanes of cars or 4 lanes of commercials, and will also incorporate two mezzanine decks, one for one lane of cars, the other for two lanes, similar to Loch Seaforth. The bow will be formed of clam shell doors, as has become the norm, with the bow ramp located behind. The stern ramp is of the same design found on Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, with the outward end section being adjustable offset port or starboard to suit the linkspan position. The Uig ferries will incorporate small differences from the Islay ferries, such as the mooring deck at the stern being raised to accommodate the greater tidal range they will encounter compared to Islay.

We will update this profile as and when Claymore is delivered and enters service, to include a description of her internal layout and facilities to be found onboard.