Argyll Ferries
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| Private Limited Company | |
| Industry | Transport |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Scottish Government |
| Headquarters | Gourock, Scotland |
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Area served
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Gourock and Dunoon, Firth of Clyde |
| Services | Ferries |
| Owner | Scottish Government |
| Parent | David MacBrayne Ltd |
| Divisions | Caledonian MacBrayne, Argyll Ferries |
| Website | www.argyllferries.co.uk, www.calmac.co.uk, www.transport.gov.scot/water, www.gov.scot/ |
Argyll Ferries Ltd is a ferry company formed in January 2011 by the Scottish Governments department of Transport Scotland via the parent company David MacBrayne Ltd to tender for the Dunoon (Cowal Peninsula) to Gourock public service route. Argyll Ferries were announced as the preferred bidder at the end of May 2011, contracts were exchanged on 7 June 2011 for the service, the service then commencened 23 days later on 30 June 2011.
The Argyll Ferries service has suffered from cancellations due to technical problems, or limitations of the small vessels in unfavourable weather. When this occurs, Argyll Ferries provide a relief bus service taking passengers to their destination via the Western Ferries Hunters Quay to McInroy's Point ferry. In winter, the larger CalMac ferry MV Coruisk is redeployed to Gourock for peak sailings, and provides a relief service when conditions are too severe for the smaller Argyll Ferries boats.
Argyll Ferries Ltd operates two passenger vessels on the route, MV Ali Cat and MV Argyll Flyer. Both are leased from their owner Caledonian Maritime Assets. Caledonian Maritime Assets LTD (CMAL) had previously run the Ali Cat on a 9-year lease from Isle of Wight Cruises but she was bought outright for the new service. The Argyll Flyer, formerly the ten-year-old Irish ferry, Connemara Queen, was purchased specifically for the new service.
When the service began on 30 June 2011, preparation of the Argyll Flyer had been held up by broken rear prop shafts. As an interim measure the cruise boat MV Clyde Clipper was leased from Clyde Cruises to start the service. She suffered breakdowns during the first day, then continued in interim service alongside the other two ferries for a short period.
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Wikipedia