Lord of the Isles at James Watt Dock

Still not feeling very good but had a meeting first thing this morning in Glasgow.

I only managed one shot on the way into work, of the MV Lord of the Isles berthed at James Watt Dock.

In March 1989 she was launched at Ferguson Shipyard in Port Glasgow. The car deck is capable of holding up to 56 cars whilst the passenger accommodation above provides space for 506 passengers. In addition to the need for a vehicle hoist, Lord of the Isles’ duties called for sailings at antisocial hours, and as a concession to passengers she was equipped with cabins and sleeping berths.

In 1989 Lord of the Isles entered service in time for the high summer season. With Oban as her home base, she entered service on the Coll – Tiree and Barra – South Uist route, giving three sailings a week on the former route and up to four return sailings a week on the latter. This new roster meant the Lord of the Isles was seldom off duty and often sailed at all hours of the day.

She was very popular on the Mallaig – Armadale crossing and the people of Mallaig and regular users of the service took her to their hearts and still regard Lord of the Isles as the best ship to serve the route to this day.

With seven islands appearing regularly in her routine, she is easily the most-travelled vessel in the CalMac fleet, having also seen service on the Wemyss Bay - Rothesay route.