Building work has officially begun on seven new loch-class electric ferries for Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), following a steel-cutting ceremony at Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdańsk, Poland. The vessels will serve Scotland’s island communities.
The event marked the first major build milestone for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP), which will deliver seven fully electric ferries in its first phase. The vessels will provide improved reliability and resilience for lifeline ferry services across the Clyde and Hebrides network.
The new ferries will serve key routes including Colintraive – Rhubodach, Lochaline -Fishnish, Tarbert – Portavadie, Iona- Fionnphort, Sconser – Raasay, Tobermory – Kilchoan and Tayinloan – Gigha.
Through cascading of existing vessels, the Largs – Cumbrae and Oban – Lismore routes will also benefit.
The contract to build the vessels was awarded to Remontowa in March 2025, following a tender process. SVRP phase one represents a £160m (US$213m) investment from the Scottish government, with the shipbuilding contract valued at £147.5m (US$197m). Delivery of the first vessel is expected in 2027.
Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of CMAL, said, “The steel-cutting process marks the start of construction for our new fleet of small vessels. These ferries will bring increased capacity and the benefits of clean, fully electric propulsion to island and rural communities.
“Work at the shipyard is progressing well, building on our strong working relationship with Remontowa, who have already successfully delivered ferries for the Scottish network. Today’s milestone demonstrates progress in our ambitious plans to renew the fleet and futureproof lifeline services.”
“The steel-cutting ceremony marks a key milestone in our plans to improve ferry services, and I look forward to further progress on this and other projects over the coming months.”
Michał Jaguszewski, director of commerce at Remontowa Shipbuilding, commented, “We have worked closely with CMAL and our skilled design teams to ensure production follows a strict timeline. We are very satisfied with the progress made so far and look forward to continuing at pace.”
The SVRP forms part of CMAL’s wider program of investment, backed by Scottish government funding, which will see the new vessels delivered alongside major harbor upgrades across the network.
In related news, P&O has announced that its North Sea ferry is to use biofuel