The surprising destinations of scrapped CalMac ferry parts as 40-year-old vessel stripped

Fittings from Hebridean Isles are to be displayed across Scotland - and Yorkshire

Equipment from the first large CalMac ferry to be recycled is to be given new homes across Scotland that will provide a lasting memory of a vessel that plied many of its west coast routes for nearly 40 years, The Scotsman has learned.

Key parts stripped from Hebridean Isles will go to public gardens and a ferry terminal waiting room in the Hebrides, a nautical college in Glasgow and the North Yorkshire town where the ship was built.

Hebridean Isles at King George V Dock in Glasgow | Jamie O'Hara

However, despite the ferry’s age, other components such as its engine, pumps, alternators and gearbox will have a second life as spare parts for the rest of the CalMac fleet, some of which is of a similar vintage.

It is the first time one of the Scottish Government-owned operator’s vessels have been recycled since the smaller sister ferries Juno and Jupiter went through the process in 2011 after nearly four decades of service on the Gourock-Dunoon route.

Hebridean Isles was retired by CalMac in November last year, nearly 39 years after entering service. Even though the operator is short of vessels, the decision was made because of the major cost of work likely to have been needed for continued passenger carrying after its safety certification expired that month.

It followed doubts in 2023 over whether the ferry, which could carry nearly 500 passengers and 62 vehicles, would ever return to service while being out of action for a then unprecedented nine months for propeller repairs.

Known by those familiar with the vessel as the Heb Isles, it was originally designed for the “Skye triangle” across the Little Minch between Uig, Lochmaddy in North Uist and Tarbert in Harris, and latterly served the main Islay route from Kennacraig in Kintyre since 2001.

Caledonian Isles' bridge being stripped of parts | Craig Findlay

However, passengers will have come across the vessel on 17 routes over the years. These routes include between Ardrossan and Brodick, and Wemyss Bay and Rothesay, while the ferry’s first sailings were on the Ullapool-Stornoway route to cover for the normal vessel undergoing annual maintenance.

Hebridean Isles is being stripped of parts at the King George V Dock in the Govan area of Glasgow in a three-month process. The vessel is then expected to take a week to be towed to a yard at Esbjerg in Denmark next month to be dismantled and recycled.

One of the ferry's passenger lounges | Craig Findlay

Scottish Government firm Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal), which owns CalMac’s fleet, said the country had been selected for the work as “the most commercially viable option” after “every asset that could be removed and utilised across the network has been salvaged”.

Parts which will remain in Scotland that will go to communities with a connection to the vessel include rows of CalMac’s red outdoor seating and lifebuoys, which are destined for gardens at Port Ellen, one of the harbours it served in Islay.

The ship's crew on/off board | Chris Fisher/Cmal

The muster list, compass card, safety signage and crew on/off board will be displayed in CalMac’s Lochmaddy ferry terminal waiting room.

The ferry’s bell will go on show at the Museum of Islay Life in Port Charlotte. A requirement of every vessel under maritime law since 1858, the bell could be used as a warning signal to other vessels in poor visibility or fog.

The ferry's bell | Chris Fisher/Cmal

Meantime, the vessel’s clock, barometer, and a set of the ship’s original Bibles are to be gifted to Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath - North Uist Historical Society - in Lochmaddy.

To commemorate Hebridean Isles’ construction at Cochrane Shipbuilders in Selby in 1985, its builders’ plaque and a section of bulwarks will go the town’s council.

The ferry was launched into the River Ouse sideways, which meant workers had to dash from beneath the hull as it slid into the water.

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Finally, training materials, including the ferry’s magnetic compass housing, its fire and emergency equipment lockers and their contents, will be used to teach maritime students at City of Glasgow College.

The parts being retained by CalMac for possible use on other ferries are being catalogued and refurbished. Underwater equipment, such as stabilisers and shaftlines - which connect the engine to the propeller - are among the only bits not to be reused.

Cmal technical manager Michael Sinclair said: “A lot of the parts we are removing are now obsolete, but are still in use on board other vessels. Keeping them in storage as working spares means we can expedite repairs and replacements on other vessels.

“For example, the MB275 engine we removed is also used on Isle of Arran, Caledonian Isles, Lord of the Isles and Isle of Mull. The bow thruster engine is strong enough to power our small vessels, so we’re getting it cleaned up and ready to be deployed if needed.”

The gearboxes being removed are an exact match for those in Caledonian Isles, while the emergency generator would fit seven CalMac vessels.

CalMac chief executive Duncan Mackison said: “Hebridean Isles served the CalMac network with great distinction and was thought of very fondly by passengers and crew.

“She operated on almost every one of our major routes during her 40 years with the company, so it is very fitting that her components will be used on the vessels serving those same routes today.”

The integral part the ship played in the communities it served was reflected by the series of renowned ceilidhs organised on the car deck by the crew while it operated the Skye triangle route, which raised thousands of pounds for medical equipment to avert islanders having to travel to the mainland for treatment.

Mairi Ann and Neil Macdonald onboard Hebridean Isles in 1989 | CalMac

Among couples who met on board was former catering crew member Mairi Ann Macdonald and her husband-to-be Neil, where he proposed.

She said: “We also travelled on her when going across to Harris to get married, and when our children came along, we would travel back and forth for holidays to Harris and Uist.

“Two generations of my family worked on same boat and absolutely loved working on her. The precious memories will stay in our lives and hearts.”