Caledonian MacBrayne fleet

The Caledonian MacBrayne fleet is the largest fleet of car and passenger ferries in the United Kingdom, with 36 ferries in operation. A further five vessels are currently under construction for the fleet. The company provides lifeline services to 23 islands off the west coast of Scotland, as well as operating routes in the Firth of Clyde.
Caledonian MacBrayne vessels can be readily identified by their black hulls and white superstructures. They have red funnels with black caps that display the Lion Rampant badge with masts in buff. The fleet can be categorised into various groups. 32 of the vessels are owned by the asset holding company Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited which is in turn, like CalMac, wholly owned by the Scottish Government. Two ferries, and, are directly owned by Caledonian MacBrayne, and a further two, and, are on charter from other owners.

Groups of vessels

Major vessels

There are presently ten monohull vessels over in length in the CalMac fleet:
,
,
,
,
, and
.
These vessels usually operate on the longer crossings, with high passenger numbers. will join them during summer 2026.
, at in length is the largest vessel in the fleet, and operates on the Ullapool to Stornoway, Lewis crossing. has the highest passenger capacity and can carry 1000 people on the Ardrossan to Brodick, Arran crossing. crosses The Minch from Uig, Skye, while, and are based in Oban, serving Mull, Colonsay, Coll, Tiree and in the summer and for relief Barra. is based in Castlebay, serving Barra, sailing to Oban. is based in Lochboisdale, serving South Uist, sailing to Mallaig and Oban in the winter. serves Islay and Colonsay from Kennacraig and is due to be joined by during summer 2026. was assisting with the Islay and Arran routes until the new vessels arrive and is currently a spare vessel.
The first of two new dual-fuel ferries built by Ferguson Marine Engineering,, was handed over to CalMac on 21 November 2024. She entered service on the Troon-Brodick route on 12 January 2025. The second dual-fuel ferry,, was launched on 12 March 2024 and is expected to delivered by 31 May 2025. The construction of these two vessels were much delayed in their construction, having been delayed by over 6 years due to a variety of factors. This sparked the Scottish ferry fiasco, surrounding the political controversies that had arisen as a result of the severe delay.
Four other identical new vessels, ordered in two batches, from Cemre Marin Endustri, Turkey are due to be delivered during 2026 to 2027. The first of which, has already been delivered and is currently on the delivery voyage. The rest are named,, and.

Loch class

The Loch class are a group of smaller vessels with a single car deck, running the length of the ship, with a ramp at each end. They vary in length from. Most are symmetrical when viewed from the side, with no operational bow or stern. Passenger accommodation is down one or both sides of the ship. This class is designed to be highly interchangeable depending on operational requirements and availability, however a few can only operate on a set route due to their design. Namely,, and, which were designed specifically for the route they operate on and also have a lounge above the car deck. They operate on shorter crossings, usually between 5 and 30 minutes, although,, and take 40, 60 and 55 minutes on their respective routes, Sound of Barra between Ardmhor and Eriskay, Sound of Harris between Berneray and Leverburgh, and Oban and Lismore.
The original four Loch class vessels were based on. At in length, they can carry 12 cars and 200 passengers. The largest and newest,, is and can carry 32 cars and 250 passengers. She was built for and has run on the Largs to Cumbrae route since 2007. A mere shorter, and were built for the Skye crossing. They were made redundant by the opening of the Skye Bridge and eventually found redeployment elsewhere after some time laid up.
Of similar design, but larger than the Loch class, was launched in 2012 for the Raasay service. She is powered by a hybrid combination of batteries and a small diesel engine - a world first for a sea-going RO-RO vessel. A second hybrid ferry,, was launched in May 2013 for the Tarbert to Portavadie route. The third hybrid ferry,, was launched on 11 December 2015 and entered service on the Claonaig to Lochranza route in September 2016.
In March 2025 a contract to build seven vessels to replace the Loch Class ferries was awarded to Remontowa Shipbuilding of Gdańsk in Poland, with the first vessel expected to be delivered by 2027. The ferries will be 49.9m long and have the capacity for 24/25 cars and 150 passengers or 15/16 cars and 250 passengers, depending on the design and route they will be on. Designs for further ferries for routes that require longer journeys or have port or sea constraints are currently being developed.

Passenger-only vessels

MV ''Argyll Flyer'' and MV ''Ali Cat''

and the catamaran are passenger-only ferries used on the Gourock - Dunoon service. The ferries, formerly operated by Argyll Ferries, were acquired when that company was incorporated into Caledonian MacBrayne in January 2019. Ali Cat, then owned by Solent and Wightline Cruises and chartered by CalMac from Red Funnel Line, entered service on the route in 2002. last served Dunoon on 29 June 2011, and was then scheduled to operate the summer relief on the Arran crossing. From 30 June 2011, the Gourock - Dunoon service was awarded on a passenger-only basis to the newly formed David MacBrayne Ltd subsidiary Argyll Ferries. Argyll Ferries purchased Ali Cat and a former Irish boat renamed to serve the route. Argyll Flyer was not available for the start of the passenger-only service due to prop shaft problems. The company leased the cruise boat from Clyde Cruises to start the service, but she was out of service with engine problems for most of the first day.

MV ''Chieftain''

is a passenger-only vessel chartered from to operate the Gourock to Kilcreggan service since 1 June 2020. She has the capacity for 80 passengers.

Other vessels

There are seven vessels in the fleet which cannot be listed in the above categories.

MV ''Carvoria''

is a vessel used on the Kerrera service. She was built in 2017 by Malakoff Limited in Shetland. She is a bow loading vessel of similar design to the old Island Class vessels and can take twelve passengers and one car, although due to vehicle restrictions on Kerrera she rarely carries cars. She is the smallest vessel in the fleet.

MV ''Coruisk''

is a "sheltered water vessel", operating on the Mallaig to Armadale route in summer, and relieving on the Clyde in winter. Her design allows her to make the crossing in reverse when sea conditions allow.

MV ''Lochnevis''

is a highly specialised ship serving the Small Isles of Eigg, Canna, Rùm and Muck from Mallaig. She is long, and has capacity for 190 passengers. Her vehicle deck can accommodate up to 14 cars, but is empty on most sailings due to the lack of roads and vehicle restrictions on the Small Isles. She is instead used mostly for goods and vital equipment for the islands. Lochnevis has a surprisingly large vehicle ramp, which dominates her appearance. This allows her to berth a considerable distance from slipways, protecting her exposed Azipod propulsion systems in shallow waters.

MV ''Loch Frisa''

is a former Norled ferry bought by Caledonian MacBrayne in 2021. She was built in 2015 as Utne and operated for Norled for 6 years. She is a double-ender ferry with passenger capacity for 195, and capacity for 40 cars, or 4 HGVs. She measures long by metres wide. Following a naming competition, CMAL announced the vessel would be renamed MV Loch Frisa.

MV ''Alfred''

MV Alfred is a 84.5 m catamaran ferry chartered from Pentland Ferries. She can carry 98 cars and 430 passengers. She operated as the second summer vessel on the Ardrossan - Brodick route from May to September 2023. Berthing trials at Stornoway in October 2023 were unsuccessful and she underwent bow thruster repairs before returning to Arran, allowing MV Caledonian Isles to carry out berthing trials at Islay, Colonsay, Mull, Coll & Tiree. Her charter was extended by 6 months on 6 November 2023 to last until 21 August 2024. During November and December, due to a technical issue with MV Loch Portain, Alfred provided a service between Tarbert and Lochmaddy. She then partnered MV Isle of Arran on the Arran service during the overhaul of MV Caledonian Isles. In July 2024, it was announced that the charter had been extended for a further six months until March 2025. Her charter was extended again, on 26 February 2025, to the end of May 2025 due to the ongoing delays with MV Caledonian Isles. Pentland Ferries announced on 3 June 2025 that Alfred's charter had again been extended until the end of October 2025 for further fleet resilience.

MV ''Argyle'' and MV ''Bute''

The Wemyss Bay to Rothesay route is operated by two vessels, built in Poland, and, which entered service in 2007. There was much controversy following the decision to award the shipbuilding contracts to yards outside Scotland. Their introduction into service was delayed by pier work to install an end-loading linkspan, allowing full ro-ro operation.

Current fleet

Notes:

Car : car capacity at time of build.
Car : car capacity as of 2025 based on current car sizes.

Future fleet

There are currently four "major vessels", and two smaller vessels, under construction for the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet. The second of the two dual-fuel ferries under construction by Ferguson Marine Engineering,, is expected to be delivered in April 2026 at the earliest.
A £91 million contract to build two ferries for the Islay service was awarded to Cemre Shipyard in Turkey in March 2022. The first steel for two ferries was cut at a ceremony in Turkey in October 2022, with the second vessel's being done in January 2023, in the same week as the first vessel's keel was laid. In May 2023, the same week as the second vessel's keel was laid, it was announced that these ferries would be named and. In October 2022 it was announced that two further vessels would be built to a very similar specification as the ferries under construction for Islay. CMAL signed a contract in January 2023 for Cemre Shipyard to also build the two ferries, which would allow a dedicated, peak season services to Tarbert and Lochmaddy from Uig and provide additional resilience in the fleet. The two Uig vessels will be named and. Originally the Islay pair were to be only different from the Uig pair by the height of the aft mooring deck, required due to the higher piers on the Uig Triangle. This however was altered during construction so that all the vessels are the same, which can be seen with the change in between the computer generated pictures and herself. Isle of Islay was completed and handed over to CMAL following passenger certification and approval from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on 15 January 2026. She is expected to travel to Scotland via Catania, Gibraltar and the Bay of Biscay, a journey planned to take around two weeks. Berthing trials and crew familiarisation will then be carried out before the vessel enters service.
As the new major ferries come into service a number of ferries will be withdrawn, however one is expected to be retained as a "resilience vessel" to cover for breakdowns elsewhere in the fleet. was withdrawn from service on 17 November 2024. CalMac have indicated that and are next most likely vessels to be disposed of, however this initial assessment remains under review, and is subject to change.
The small vessel replacement project will see the replacement of the oldest of the Loch class vessels, in two phases over ten years. For Phase 1 of this project, in March 2025 a contract to build seven vessels was awarded to Remontowa Shipbuilding of Gdańsk in Poland, the same shipyard that built MVs Argyle, Bute and Finlaggan. These are electric ferries, though may require to be run on diesel until shore power can be fully set up, with the first vessel expected in 2027. The first steel was cut for the first of these vessels,, in September 2025. Loch Awe's keel was laid in December 2025, and steel was cut for the second vessel, MV Loch Etive.
For Phase 2 of the SVRP further vessels are currently being designed for the more exposed routes; these will be tendered separately at a later date. Initial design and port feasibility studies for these vessels commenced in August 2024.

Name	Cars	Passengers	Type	Routes	Build Details	Shipbuilder	Image
	107	450	Diesel electric car ferry	Kennacraig – Port Askaig/Port Ellen Kennacraig – Port Askaig - Colonsay - Oban	Under Construction, delivery expected winter of 2025. Launched June 2024.	Cemre Marin Endustri, Turkey
II	127	852	LNG/MGO dual-fuel car ferry	Troon - Brodick Ardrossan - Brodick	Under construction, delivery expected Q4 2026.Launched 9 April 2024.	Ferguson Marine, Port Glasgow
III	107	450	Diesel electric car ferry	Uig - Tarbert	Under Construction, delivery expected during 2026. Launched August 2025.	Cemre Marin Endustri, Turkey
IV	107	450	Diesel electric car ferry	Uig - Lochmaddy	Under Construction, delivery expected during 2026.	Cemre Marin Endustri, Turkey
MV Loch Etive MV Loch Katrine MV Loch Maree MV Loch Morar MV Loch Rannoch MV Loch Shiel	24	150	SVRP Phase 1: 7 double-ended electric car ferries	Lochaline - Fishnish	Yard Numbers B621/1 to B621/7. Delivery of first vessel expected summer 2027, with final vessel scheduled for end of Q1 2029.	Remontowa Group, Poland
MV Loch Etive MV Loch Katrine MV Loch Maree MV Loch Morar MV Loch Rannoch MV Loch Shiel	24	150	SVRP Phase 1: 7 double-ended electric car ferries	Colintraive - Rhubodach	Yard Numbers B621/1 to B621/7. Delivery of first vessel expected summer 2027, with final vessel scheduled for end of Q1 2029.	Remontowa Group, Poland
MV Loch Etive MV Loch Katrine MV Loch Maree MV Loch Morar MV Loch Rannoch MV Loch Shiel	24	150	SVRP Phase 1: 7 double-ended electric car ferries	Sconser - Raasay	Yard Numbers B621/1 to B621/7. Delivery of first vessel expected summer 2027, with final vessel scheduled for end of Q1 2029.	Remontowa Group, Poland
MV Loch Etive MV Loch Katrine MV Loch Maree MV Loch Morar MV Loch Rannoch MV Loch Shiel	24	150	SVRP Phase 1: 7 double-ended electric car ferries	Tarbert - Portavadie	Yard Numbers B621/1 to B621/7. Delivery of first vessel expected summer 2027, with final vessel scheduled for end of Q1 2029.	Remontowa Group, Poland
MV Loch Etive MV Loch Katrine MV Loch Maree MV Loch Morar MV Loch Rannoch MV Loch Shiel	24	150	SVRP Phase 1: 7 double-ended electric car ferries	Tayinloan - Ardminish, Gigha	Yard Numbers B621/1 to B621/7. Delivery of first vessel expected summer 2027, with final vessel scheduled for end of Q1 2029.	Remontowa Group, Poland
MV Loch Etive MV Loch Katrine MV Loch Maree MV Loch Morar MV Loch Rannoch MV Loch Shiel	16	250	SVRP Phase 1: 7 double-ended electric car ferries	Fionnphort - Baile Mòr, Iona	Yard Numbers B621/1 to B621/7. Delivery of first vessel expected summer 2027, with final vessel scheduled for end of Q1 2029.	Remontowa Group, Poland
MV Loch Etive MV Loch Katrine MV Loch Maree MV Loch Morar MV Loch Rannoch MV Loch Shiel	16	250	SVRP Phase 1: 7 double-ended electric car ferries	Tobermory - Kilchoan	Yard Numbers B621/1 to B621/7. Delivery of first vessel expected summer 2027, with final vessel scheduled for end of Q1 2029.	Remontowa Group, Poland

Former fleet

was a ro-ro vehicle ferry that was operated by Caledonian MacBrayne on the west coast of Scotland. She was the first MacBrayne vessel to be ordered and built for them outside Scotland and the first to be launched sideways. With bow, stern and side ramps, Hebridean Isles was suitable for all the routes served by the large fleet units. After 15 years crossing the Little Minch on the Uig triangle, she served Islay and Colonsay before being retired in November 2024, after almost 40 years of service.
The former Clyde ferries,, and had provided the Dunoon and Rothesay services for the best part of 35 years. They were nicknamed the "streakers", because of their speed and ability to manoeuvre rapidly both at sea and in port. Juno and Jupiter were withdrawn from service in 2010, and by June 2011 Juno had been broken up at Rosneath, meanwhile Jupiter was sold to breakers in Denmark for recycling in that month.

Name	Built	Entered service	Left service	Additional information	Image
	1985	1985	Nov 2024	Towed to Esbjerg in Denmark for scrapping in October 2025. Spare parts which could be used for maintaining other vessels were removed for storage prior to her departure to Denmark.
FB Laig Bay	2000	2000	2004	Eigg Tender
MV Gylen Lady	1999	1 July 2017	5 Sept 2017	Continues to do relief duties to cover for the overhaul of MV Cavoria on the Kerrera route.
MV Arrow	1998	July 2021 Jan 2023 Nov 2023	Sep 2021 Mar 2023 Nov 2023	Charter vessel from Seatruck Ferries and Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. for Stornoway freight service.
MV Clipper Ranger	1998	2013	2015	Charter vessel from Seatruck Ferries for Stornoway freight service.
	1979	Sept 2002	Sept 2013	Charter vessel from Harrison's Ltd for Stornoway freight service.
MV Hascosay	1971	May 2002	Aug 2002	Charter vessel from NorthLink Ferries for Stornoway freight service.
MV Lochmor II	1979	1979	2001
III	1978	1978 Oct 1997	May 1997 Apr 1998	Sold to Sea Container Service Ltd then to Pentland Ferries. She was chartered back 1997/8.
MV Saturn	1977	1977	2011	Sold to Pentland Ferries, renamed MV Orcadia.
	1976	1976	2018
	1975	1975	2017
II	1974	1974	2018
III	1974	1974	2010	Scrapped
III	1974	1974	2004
	1974	1974	1995
II	1973	1974	2011	Scrapped
MV Bruernish	1973	1973	2006
MV Coll II	1973	1973	1998
	1973	1973	1998
MV Morvern	1972	1972, 1973	1995	From David MacBrayne
MV Kilbrannan	1972	1972, 1973	1992	From Caledonian Steam Packet
MV Lochalsh III	1971	1971, 1973	1991	From Caledonian Steam Packet
MV Iona VII	1970	1970, 1973 Apr 1998 Nov 2008	1997 May 1998 Dec 2008	From David MacBrayne. Sold to Pentland Ferries renamed MV Pentalina-B. Chartered back to CalMac twice.
III	1970	1970, 1973	1991	From Caledonian Steam Packet
II	1969	1969, 1973	1986	From Caledonian Steam Packet
II	1967	1967, 1973	1987	From Caledonian Steam Packet
III	1966	1970, 1973	1988	From Caledonian Steam Packet, former MV Stena Baltica
II	1965	1965, 1973	1987	From Caledonian Steam Packet
MV Columba II	1964	1964, 1973	1989	From David MacBrayne, current MV Hebridean Princess
IV	1964	1964, 1973	1984	From David MacBrayne
II	1963	1963, 1973	1985	From David MacBrayne
FB Iona VI	1962	1962, 1973	1988	From David MacBrayne, Iona - Staffa Tender
	1961	1967, 1973	1993	From Caledonian Steam Packet
MV Kyleakin II	1960	1960, 1973	1983	From Caledonian Steam Packet
III	1957	1957, 1973	1989	From Caledonian Steam Packet
MV Lochalsh II	1957	1957, 1973	1979	From Caledonian Steam Packet
FB Ulva	1956	1956, 1973	2001	From David MacBrayne, Iona - Staffa then Eigg tender
II	1955	1955, 1973	1976	From David MacBrayne
VI	1954	1954, 1973	1979	From Caledonian Steam Packet
II	1954	1954, 1973	1979	From Caledonian Steam Packet
	1953	1953, 1973	1981	From Caledonian Steam Packet, restoration being done by
II	1953	1954, 1973	1980	From Caledonian Steam Packet
	1953	1953, 1973	1978	From Caledonian Steam Packet, converted to a car ferry
	1953	1953, 1973	1974	From Caledonian Steam Packet
	1953	1953, 1973	1973	From Caledonian Steam Packet
	1953	1953, 1973	1973	From Caledonian Steam Packet
MV Loch Carron	1951	1951, 1973	1976	From David MacBrayne
	1947	1947, 1973	1974	From Caledonian Steam Packet, currently run by a
I	1947	1947, 1973	1973	From David MacBrayne
MV Loch Dunvegan II	1946	1950, 1973	1973	From David MacBrayne
MV Loch Toscaig	1945	1955, 1973	1975	From David MacBrayne
FB Applecross	1944	1963 1973	1969 1985	Kylerhea, Tobermory and Iona Tender
MV Loch Arkaig	1942	1960, 1973	1979	From David MacBrayne
MV Loch Nell	1941	1947, 1973	1981	From David MacBrayne
FB Staffa VI	1934	1975	1981	Tender
	1933	1935, 1973	1978	From Caledonian Steam Packet, restoration being done by
FB Kildonan II	1923	1975	1985	Tender
FB Eigg I	1923	1966, 1973	1978	From David MacBrayne, Tender
FB Craignure	1904	1950 1973	1964 1979	Craignure and Iona Tender
FB Tiger	1904	1973	1975	Iona Tender