Ships Of CalMac - History of: Argyle


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FLEET HISTORIES

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The Fleet

Argyle

History

The history of Argyle goes right back to the initial planning stages for the new generation of Rothesay ferries. From the outset it was made clear that two sisters were what CalMac wanted - as had been the case three decades previously when the Jupiter and the Juno were ordered.

To an extent, the process of designing and building the new Rothesay ferries, which commenced in 2003 following the entry into service of the unique Coruisk, was a fairly similar affair to that which had been seen prior to the Streakers introduction. Rather than having the sisters built at simultaneously, the company opted to have them built one after the other. In the 1970's it was Jupiter that emerged first, followed a year later by Juno in 1974. This time round it was the Bute which arrived first in the last days of June 2005, at which time it was predictably announced that the second new ship was to be ordered.

While Bute settled into her new routine of plying back and forth between Wemyss Bay and Rothesay, a watchful eye was kept on the new ship to identify areas for improvement, so that her younger sister could be modified as required during the construction process. It was originally planned that the second ship would be brought into service in the summer of 2006, but it was to be September before she was even launched!

Following a relatively new policy adopted by CalMac, the name of the new ship was revealed in a press release some months before the launch and on 3rd April 2006 a statement on the company's website announced the revival of the name Argyle. The new Argyle was to be the seventh ship to carry the name - and by coincidence she would be operating alongside the seventh vessel to carry the name Bute. The name had long been associated with the Wemyss Bay - Rothesay route and it seemed wholly appropriate that the name be brought back into use.

Argyle took shape slowly at the Remontowa yard in Gdansk, Poland and as her sister did on 9th February 2005, she slid sideways into the water for the first time on 12th September 2006. As planned, the fitting out process took into account a small number of design modifications, based on lessons learned from Bute. For a start there would be two lifts between the car deck and the passenger lounge and the lounge itself was to be a little larger on the second sister.

At a casual glance it is anticipated that there will be very little to differentiate Argyle from Bute although there will be subtle differences between the twins that will give away their identities (other than the name of course!). As built, Argyle possesses a ramp on the starboard side although it is hoped that this will not be used very often. Once her fitting out is completed and trials have been performed, the new ship will be brought over to the UK and will undergo berthing trials to assess her suitability at the various Upper Clyde piers which she will be expected to use.

It is expected that both Bute and Argyle will spend much of the winter of 2006/07 laid up, leaving the Rothesay route in the care of Juno and Saturn. The reason for this is the construction works involved with installing the new end-loading linkspan and associated dolphins at Rothesay. The new generation of ships are nowhere near as manoeuvrable as the Streakers and as a result they would get in the way of the building works, while the older ferries are able to berth with precision and not interfere with the installation.

Once the new berth is completed then the coast will be clear for Argyle to take over, with her sister of course, and complete the modernisation of what has grown to become CalMac's busiest route. The ferries will finally be able to use their stern ramps on a regular basis while continuing to bow load at Wemyss Bay, although they will probably retain their side ramps in case they need to relieve at Dunoon, or some technical problem necessitates the use of the old side-loading linkspan on Bute.