MV Loch Frisa sails on ship-shape commuter route

CalMac’s latest ferry, with a price tag of £10.5 million, launched this week with the promise of all-year round commuter travel between Oban and Mull.

Former Mull

councillor Mary“Jean Devon had the honour of launching and renaming the MV Loch Frisa at Craignure using a 12-yearold bottle of Tobermory whisky in the ceremony in front of invited guests, including dignitaries and crew.

Mrs Devon said Loch Frisa’s arrival had been long-looked forward to by islanders and would be ‘lifechanging’.

For decades, islanders have been asking and pushing for a second boat for the winter time-table service and at last they have got it. She said it would also be life-changing for giving work opportunities to islanders who no longer had to go off island for employment. About two-thirds of the crew already live on Mull - remaining staff are still searching for

accommodation, some are temporarily in hotels. Mrs Devon also gave a nod to Ross of Mull crofter Ronnie Campbell who had chaired the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee for years and had fi rst raised the What a special question of a second boat night we all had decades ago to work all year in Dervaig on round on the route. Saturday. This is ‘Ronnie is sadly no longer clearly a strong community with us, but he would have been glad to see his work and the work of the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee that he chaired for many years was not in vain. ‘It is good to see the boat fi nally here,’ she said. Guests had to wait just a little longer than planned while crew practised opening

the new ramp that was one of the major modifi cations made during a £4.5 million refurbishment at Leith - other work included fi tting a sewage plant to make it worthy for Scottish seas.

The vessel, built in Turkey and formerly called MV Utne, previously operated in Norway and was the fi rst pre-used boat to be purchased to join the CalMac fl eet out of 650 second-hand boats offered in the past six years, said CMAL chief executive Kevin Hobbs.

Mr Hobbs said the quest continued to fi nd more second-hand boats for routes around Scotland.

Winners of an art competition for primary schools were also among guests, receiving prizes for their pictures that will be permanently on show aboard the boat.

A specially commissioned painting was unveiled too.

The winners were P1 pupil Darcy and P7 pupil Izzy from Tobermory Primary School and P5 pupil Hazel from Ulva Primary School.

Thanks were given to everyone who worked hard to bring the MV Loch Frisa into service.

The Loch Frisa cost the Scottish government £6 million in October and it was ‘wonderful’ to see her come onto the route, said Mr Hobbs.

He added it had ‘not been easy’ because of Covid and getting parts needed from abroad, including China.

Plans to ‘slowly, slowly’ bring the Loch Frisa into service saw the ferry start to offi cially carry paying passengers in mid-June, in tandem with the MV Coruisk’s timetable and alongside the MV Isle of Mull, with Frisa eventually taking over Coruisk’s timetable.

MV Coruisk is moving onto the Mallaig to Armadale route.