Scottish island-mainland ro-ro ferry Bute and its sistership

Car & passenger ferry Bute, of the B 338/2 type, built as newbuilding no. 1333/1 at Northern Shipyard on order of Gdansk Shiprepair Yard Remontowa S.A. for Scottish Owner Caledonian MacBrayne, is deployed on the CalMac's Rothesay - Wemyss Bay service.

Funding of up to GBP 8.75 million for a new ship for the Company's busiest service was announced late in 2003, by the Scottish Executive. According to UE rules the successful bidder had to be decided on a best value basis and as a result the contract went to the REMONTOWA Group in Poland.
For the first time the shipyard's offer was not limited to the Scandinavian and British market including also the construction of the ferry-boat for the Scottish Owner. Moreover, the contract has provoked a lot of emotion and comments in Scotland. The Owner's decision of committing the construction of the ferry-boat outside Scotland, to be built at Northern Shipyard, Gdansk, was received with great surprise.

The shipyard has built a ferry-boat which is small but modern with superstructure made of aluminium and innovative engine room and shafting made of glass fibre. The whole design of the vessel was prepared in Remontowa's Design Office, employing the most up to date technology including three- dimensional modelling techniques for steel and outfitting engineering.
One of the most interesting features of the project was the creation of a new ship model and it was, for example, while the ship was being planned, possible to "walk through" the engine room and accommodation to get impression of what the compartments would eventually look like.
The new MV Bute is actually the seventh ship on the Clyde to have this name. The new ship is 72 m long, 15,3 m in breadth and has a draught of 3 m. She carries up to 60 cars, which compares with the 38 carried by Streakers currently operating on the Clyde. The ship can carry 450 passengers with seating provided internally for 250. She sails at 14 knots and has stabilisers.
The shipís design takes account of the needs of disabled customers and DPTAC guidelines. There is a lift with priority for the disabled and customers with impaired mobility. Priority car parking is also identified on the car deck. The whole operation from design to fulfillment is designed to enhance passenger safety, comfort, convenience and environmental performance.
The vessel is equipped to carry 44-tonne vehicles and dangerous goods. She has roll-on/roll-off facilities with additional side loading ramp. Vessel's engine controls, alarms and monitoring are carried from engineer's control station on the bridge.

The first cropping-out of steel plates destined for ferry-boat Bute took place on 2nd August 2004, the ship was launched in February 9, 2005 sideways, and delivered the same year in June. She is to be accompanied on the route in due course by a sister vessel which is due for delivery in 2006.
CalMac's Managing Director Lawrie Sinclair commented on the repeat order placed at Remontowa: "CalMac is delighted to have this confirmation of the new build details. We are extremely satisfied with MV Bute and the way that project was delivered. This second new ship for the Wemyss Bay to Rothesay service will enable us to further enhance the service between the island and the mainland."

Propulsion:
Two Main Engines Type MAK 6M20 rated at 1140 kW
and 8M20 rated at 1520 kW both operating at 1000 rpm
and driving Schottel Rudder Propellers type STP 1010
and STP 121 forward and aft respectively.

Power:
Two Auxiliary Generators Type Scania / Stamford each
rated at 200 kW/250 kVA.
Emergency generator type Sisu / Stamford

Class:
Lloyds Class +100 A1, + LMC Ro-Ro Passenger
and Vehicle Ferry with EP and IWS Notations. MCA Class IV&V.