MV Saturn
MV Saturn arriving at Gourock in May 2009
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: |
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| Namesake: | Saturn; Orcadia |
| Operator: |
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| Port of registry: | Glasgow |
| Route: |
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| Builder: | Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon |
| Yard number: | 552 |
| Launched: | 30 June 1977 |
| Maiden voyage: | 2 February 1978 |
| Identification: |
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| Status: | Laid up at St Margaret's Hope, Orkney. |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 851 GRT, 899 GT |
| Length: | 69.5 m (228 ft) |
| Beam: | 13.8 m (45 ft) |
| Draft: | 2.45 m (8 ft) |
| Depth: | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Installed power: | 2 x Mirrlees Blackstone 4SCSA 8-cylinder oil engines, 1000 bhp each |
| Propulsion: | 2 Voith Schneider propellors, one at each end of the hull, on the centreline |
| Speed: | approximately 12 kn (22 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 531 passengers, 38 cars |
| Crew: | 10 |
| Notes: | |
MV Orcadia, formerly known as MV Saturn, is a vessel which was formerly operated as a ro-ro passenger and vehicle ferry by Caledonian MacBrayne in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland between 1978 and 2011. She operated crossings from the mainland Rothesay crossing for the first decade of her career and eventually saw service on the Dunoon and Brodick crossings as well as on short cruises around the Clyde. After lengthy lay-up, she was sold in 2015 to Pentland Ferries to be converted for ferry services and work with the renewable energy sector around Orkney and the Pentland Firth.
Saturn was an evolution of the design used in the earlier Jupiter and Juno, that were launched in 1974. Instead of conventional propellers, all three vessels had two fore-and-aft Voith-Schneider units, which had been so successful on the fleet's 1972 Skye ferries. This propulsion system made the streakers highly manoeuvrable, greatly reducing turn round times at each end of a route. With Voith-Schneider units, thrust can be directed through a full 360 degrees, removing the need for a rudder. The amount of thrust and hence the vessel's speed, is controlled by varying the pitch, while the engine runs at a constant speed.
The vessel incorporates a large open vehicle deck towards the stern, with passenger accommodation and services towards the bow across three decks. The design is of the roll-on/roll-off type, with cars driving on either over the stern ramp or using one of the ramps amidships that lower to port and starboard respectively. She has two passenger lounges, one with a cafeteria. There is crew accommodation on the upper deck and open-air passenger areas.
Unlike her quasi-sister ships, Jupiter and Juno, Saturn's bridge was constructed one deck above the upper passenger deck, giving passenger access right round the front of the ship, allowing views directly over the bow.Saturn did not have the large mast structure fitted above the car decks of her quasi-sisters.
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Wikipedia