New CMAL Ferry Named in Public Vote

Scotland's Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) announced that one of its new vessels will be named Glen Rosa following a public vote that saw nearly 5,000 entries.

4,844 votes were cast in the competition on CMAL’s website, which ran for three weeks. Glen Rosa, which will be known as Gleann Ruasaidh in Gaelic, was the most popular name, garnering 52% of the votes.

The vessel currently known as Hull 802, along with Glen Sannox, is currently under construction at the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow, and both ferries will provide year-round service for Arran.

Following the recent update to the NZET committee from Ferguson Marine, Glen Rosa is due to launch in March 2024.

Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of CMAL said, “The public’s response to the naming of Hull 802 has been fantastic to see, and I’d like to thank everyone for taking the time to vote.

“Though we are disappointed in the delay to launching the vessel reported by Fergusons last week, we understand that the priority is ensuring that the newly named MV Glen Rosa achieves Maritime and Coastguard (MCA) approval. We continue to work closely with the team at Ferguson Marine and can see great progress being made towards the delivery of both MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa.”

Robbie Drummond, chief executive of CalMac, said, “We are very much looking forward to MV Glen Rosa and MV Glen Sannox joining our fleet. These vessels will provide much-needed resilience to the Arran community, and to the network as a whole.”

Glen Rosa will be one of six new major vessels due to join the CMAL fleet before the end of 2025, following a commitment of £695 million from the Scottish Government for the years 2021- 2026.

The 102-meter dual fuel ferries will be able to operate on both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and marine diesel. The ships are designed to carry 127 cars or 16 HGVs, or a combination of both.