Ships and Boats

USS Missouri (BB-63) ("Mighty Mo" or "Big Mo") is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship and was the third ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri. Missouri was the last battleship commissioned by the United States and was best remembered as the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II. Missouri was ordered in 1940 and commissioned in June 1944. In the Pacific Theater of World War II she fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands, and she fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. She was decommissioned in 1955 into the United States Navy reserve fleets (the "Mothball Fleet"), but reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and provided fire support during Operation Desert Storm in January/February 1991. Missouri received a total of 11 battle stars for service in World War II, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, and was finally decommissioned on 31 March 1992, but remained on the Naval Vessel Register until her name was struck in January 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor.

Launched in August 1963, this steam tender vessel was the last ship built by the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company, Glasgow, and was previously the Northern Lighthouse Board's (NLB) tender Fingal. At some time after she was launched, a flight deck was added, which required the mizzen mast to be moved forward. She was Leith-registered but spent most of her NLB service working out of Oban for 30 years, followed by her last six years in Stromness, Orkney. When she retired from NLB service in 2000 she was sold to a private owner who fully maintained her, moored on the River Fal in Cornwall for the next 14 years until she was acquired by Britannia (The Britannia Trust) in 2014. At nearly 73m long, FINGAL was both big enough to convert into a commercially viable small hotel and not too big to be beyond the Trust's budget, so when the deal to acquire her, or Windsor Castle as she had been renamed, was completed the ship went into Falmouth dry dock for an insurance survey to ensure she was suitably seaworthy to be towed to Edinburgh. FINGAL was safely towed to Leith, arriving in August 2014, and the detailed designs for the conversion could begin. The Pedley Group's £5m 'design and build' conversion took the best part of two years to complete and had a soft-opening in January 2018. It is being managed by Britannia's trading company; Royal Yacht Enterprises.

MV Isle of Mull is one of the larger Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited ferries operated by Caledonian MacBrayne from Oban on the west of Scotland. MV Isle of Mull was designed for the route between Oban and Craignure on the Isle of Mull. After being launched on the Clyde in 1987, she entered service on the 11 April 1988, in place of the older and slower MV Caledonia. However the new vessel was seriously overweight – by more than 100 tons - due to both design and Steel Supply, British Steel had installed a new Computerised Gauge Control at its Dalzell Plate production unit, and during the initial production of steel plate after its introduction it tended to produce plates still within the allowed manufacturing specification, but at or near the upper gauge allowed in the tolerance - resulting in the steel tending to be heavier than designed. In late autumn 1988 she was taken out of service for two weeks and sent to Tees Dockyard Ltd in Middlesbrough to be lengthened by 5.4 m (20 ft). The extent of this implant can most easily be observed when climbing the stairs from the car deck to the passenger accommodation. These stairs used to be a single flight, but now have a level section halfway up. The new length of hull made the vessel better both in terms of vehicle capacity (taking it to around 80) but also in that she handled better at sea with her overall speed increased slightly. In the late 1990s she underwent internal refurbishment. Her cafeteria was redecorated and the serving area modified – setting the standard for the rest of the fleet. The shop was moved to a more prominent position in the entrance concourse and she received new seating covers etc.[ The Isle of Mull underwent another major refurbishment in 2005. The cafeteria was redesigned with a new service area layout, including self-service tea and coffee machines and was renamed the Mariners Cafeteria. A coffee bar was installed in the viewing lounge at the after end of the ship opposite the doors leading out to the open deck which overlooks the rope handling area of the ship and is named the Coffee Cabin. The bar has also been renamed The Still.

MS Albatros is a cruise ship, operated by the Germany-based travel agency Phoenix Reisen. She was built in 1973 by Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland for Royal Viking Line as Royal Viking Sea, and has also sailed under the names Royal Odyssey, Norwegian Star, and Crown. She is the second Albatros for Phoenix Reisen as she was the replacement of the original SS Albatros.

IONA was the first of a new, second generation of major car ferries completed in the 1970s for the Scottish Transport Group companies. She was also the first drive-through RO/RO ferry built for the fleet and in fact would be the only drive-through ship laid down for the Company until 1983. Fast and extremely versatile, she would enjoy a far-flung career and inaugurate more endloading linkspans than the rest of the fleet put together. For much of her career her galley was reputed to produce the best food in CalMac and her crews always praised her as an excellent sea boat.

PS Maid of the Loch is the last of a long line of Loch Lomond steamers that began about 1816, within four years of Henry Bell's pioneering passenger steamboat service on the River Clyde. In 1950 the British Transport Commission, owner of the newly nationalised railways, made the decision to replace the Princess May and Prince Edward with a new paddle steamer, to be the largest inland waterway vessel ever in Britain. Maid of the Loch was built by A. & J. Inglis of Glasgow, launched on Thursday 5 March 1953, and entered service later that year. She is a "knock down" ship: that is, after assembly at the shipyard she was dismantled, and shipped to the loch (by rail to Balloch at the south end of the loch), and there her sections were reassembled on a purpose built slipway. Her tonnage measures 555 grt, and the length is 208 ft (63 m). Her two-cylinder compound diagonal steam engine is less advanced than had become usual on steamers such as the PS Waverley, but was considered suitable for the limited area of operations. Maid of the Loch was painted white with a buff funnel. She was operated by the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. She provided a service from Balloch pier, initially to Ardlui at the north end of the loch, but later her last call was a few miles short of this at Inversnaid and she would cruise to the head of the loch. She was transferred to the Scottish Transport Group in 1969; then in 1973 to Caledonian MacBrayne. As with other steamers, cost pressures led to her being laid up after a last commercial sailing on 31 August 1981. One problem was that some of the piers on the loch would become unusable, either because of poor state of repair, or silting making the area around them too shallow; some of these piers had not been built to take a vessel as large as the Maid of the Loch. A series of attempts to bring her back into service under a succession of owners was unsuccessful, and she presented a sad sight gradually deteriorating at the side of the loch. In 1992 Dumbarton District Council bought Maid of the Loch and restoration work started. In 1995 the Council supported a group of local enthusiasts in setting up a charitable organisation, the Loch Lomond Steamship Company, to take over ownership and carry on restoration. She became ready for static operation with a cafe/bar and function suite in autumn 2000. The key to the restoration was the repair and refurbishment of the slipway adjacent to the pier at Balloch. There not being any connection to the sea it was not possible to take the ship to a dry dock for repairs to the hull so a slipway with a steam-operated cable-hauled cradle had been built. This had fallen into disrepair by the 1990s and eventually a Heritage Lottery Fund grant was awarded along with assistance from local and Scottish governmental organisations.This enabled the paddle steamer to be lifted out of the water on 27 June 2006. The Maid of the Loch is open to the public every day Easter to October, and weekends only through the Winter. She has a new livery of red, white and black, the funnel now red with a black top. Repairs and servicing are now earnestly underway to bring her back into steam operation.

MV Jupiter was a passenger and vehicle ferry in the fleet of Caledonian MacBrayne in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. She was the oldest of three "streakers" and the third River Clyde steamer to bear the name 'Jupiter'. Her open car deck was accessible by stern and side ramps ro-ro. She entered service in 1974, and operated the Gourock to Dunoon crossing for much of her career. In 2006, she became the oldest vessel in the CalMac fleet and operated for longer than any vessel ever in the fleet. Jupiter was sold for breaking in 2011.

The Clyde puffer is a type of small coal-fired and single-masted cargo ship built mainly on the Forth and Clyde canal and which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides islands of Scotland. Built between 1856 and 1939, these stumpy little steamboats achieved an almost mythical status thanks largely to the short stories Neil Munro wrote about the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy, which produced three television series.

The Clyde puffer is a type of small coal-fired and single-masted cargo ship built mainly on the Forth and Clyde canal and which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides islands of Scotland. Built between 1856 and 1939, these stumpy little steamboats achieved an almost mythical status thanks largely to the short stories Neil Munro wrote about the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy, which produced three television series. Characteristically these boats had bluff bows, crew's quarters with table and cooking stove in the focsle, and a single mast with derrick in front of the large hold, aft of which the funnel and ship's wheel stood above the engine room while the captain had a small cabin in the stern. When publication of the Vital Spark stories began in 1905 the ship's wheel was still in the open, but later a wheelhouse was added aft of the funnel giving the puffers their distinctive image. Their flat bottom allowed them to beach and unload at low tide, essential to supply remote settlements without suitable piers. Typical cargoes could include coal and furniture, with farm produce and gravel sometimes being brought back.

HM Bark Endeavour Replica is a replica of HMS Endeavour, the bark commanded by Lieutenant James Cook when he charted New Zealand and discovered the eastern coast of Australia. The idea of recreating Endeavour for use as a museum ship was generated during the establishment of the Australian National Maritime Museum in the 1980s; the vessel would be funded by the Bond Corporation, and gifted to the nation on completion. A specialist shipyard, complete with viewing platform and guided tours for the public, was set up, and construction of the vessel commenced in 1988. Two years later, work stopped because the Bond Corporation hit financial trouble; a Japanese company, the Yoshiya Corporation, stepped in, but was also forced to withdraw support because of financial problems. Volunteers maintained the incomplete vessel until the HM Bark Endeavour Foundation was established as a charitable trust in 1991. The Endeavour replica was launched at the end of 1993, and completed in 1994. After sea trials, the replica sailed from Fremantle to Sydney, where she arrived at the end of 1994. During 1995, the ship recreated Cook's voyage along eastern Australia, then visited New Zealand at the end of the year. In late 1996, the Endeavour replica set out on a circumnavigation of the world, visiting ports in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and North America, before returning to New Zealand in late 1999. The vessel returned to Sydney in mid-2000. In 2001, the replica was used for filming of the BBC documentary The Ship, then sailed to England in 2002. She spent the next two years visiting ports in the United Kingdom and Europe, before sailing back to Sydney in 2005, completing a second round-the-world voyage. On arrival in Australia, the HM Bark Endeavour Foundation transferred ownership of the vessel to the Australian National Maritime Museum. During 2011 and 2012, the replica circumnavigated Australia.

SS Sir Walter Scott is a small steamship that has provided pleasure cruises and a ferry service on Loch Katrine in the scenic Trossachs of Scotland for more than a century, and is the only surviving screw steamer in regular passenger service in Scotland. It is named after the writer Walter Scott, who set his 1810 poem Lady of the Lake, and his 1818 novel Rob Roy around Loch Katrine. In 1859 Loch Katrine became Glasgow's main water supply, connected by aqueducts and tunnels to the city more than 30 miles (48 km) away through a hilly landscape. The Trossachs became very popular in the Victorian era, and there were early steamship services on the loch. The Loch is surrounded by wooded mountains, and has romantic historical connections including the birthplace of the outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor. Queen Victoria had a holiday house built overlooking the loch. William Denny and Brothers built Sir Walter Scott as a "knock-down" ship; that is, it was assembled with bolts and nuts at Denny's shipyard at Dumbarton on the River Leven, the pieces numbered and dismantled again, transported in pieces by barge up Loch Lomond and overland by horse-drawn cart to Stronachlachar pier on Loch Katrine and there rebuilt with rivets and launched. Denny's assembled Sir Walter Scott at their yard in 1899 and completed its reassembly and launch on the loch in 1900. All ships in the UK must record a measured mile for seaworthiness. Sir Walter Scott completed its measured mile on the Firth of Clyde when bolted together, before being disassembled, transported to Loch Katrine and riveted together again. Its original cost was £4,269, which included a delivery charge of £2,028. Sir Walter Scott weighs 115 tons, is 110 feet (34 m) long and has a 19 feet (5.8 m) beam. It is powered by its original three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine and has two locomotive-type boilers[clarification needed] which until the end of 2007 were fired by solid fuel fed into the firebox by a stoker. At a time when most steamers changed to oil-fired boilers, the Sir Walter Scott kept using solid fuel to meet the requirement of ensuring that Glasgow's water supply is not polluted, changing from coal to coke to reduce air pollution. In a refit at the end of the 2007 season the boilers were altered to run on biofuel. During this refit, the superstructure was rebuilt and a forward deck cabin was added. Some consider the modified superstructure an abomination, destroying the classic lines of this Victorian era steamer. The vessel has a crew of five. Sir Walter Scott sails from Trossachs pier at the east end of the loch, 7 miles (11 km) north of Aberfoyle) and runs a ferry service 8 miles (13 km) west along the loch to Stronachlachar pier, in the morning and afternoon in spring and summer, taking walkers and cyclists who return by land, then takes those embarking at the pier and those doing the round trip back to Trosachs pier. In the afternoon it also does one or more shorter scenic cruises. In the winter it is taken up on a slipway for maintenance work.

MV Coruisk is a Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited ferry built in 2003, operated by Caledonian MacBrayne and serving the west coast of Scotland. Following her launch at Appledore's yard in early 2003, Coruisk left on her delivery voyage on August 2. She carried out berthing trials on the Clyde before taking over the Mallaig to Armadale route on August 14. She was officially named at Armadale by Baroness Ray Michie of Gallanach at a special ceremony. Initial technical problems required MV Pioneer to resume the service for some time. On 24 August, Coruisk lost power and struck a reef at the Mallaig harbour entrance, losing one of her propulsion units. She went to the Clyde for repairs and did not return to Mallaig that season. The following winter season at Dunoon was only slightly more successful, with slow berthing and many passenger complaints adding to her worsening reputation.Subsequent seasons have been less eventful. A temporary modification is made for the winter seasons to accommodate the gangways at Wemyss Bay and Rothesay. The design of Coruisk is unique.As well as bow and stern ramps, allowing drive-through operation, she also has a port side ramp, allowing side-loading on the Clyde in winter months. The bow ramp is protected by an open visor, similar to those found on Orkney and Shetland inter-island ferries. Clearance on the car deck is 5.1m. Above the car deck are two passenger decks, one containing the main lounge areas with toilets and a small shop/kiosk. A small external deck area on the same level, both fore and aft of the lounges, has stairways leading to the open deck above. Crew accommodation is on the upper deck. Sitting even further up, the bridge gives the master a view down over bow and stern. Schottel electric azimuth thrusters incorporate rotating pods protruding beneath the hull, with two propellers on each. Although similar to Voith Schneider units, the vessel proved much harder to control and manoeuvre. Until 2016, Coruisk was the sole vessel on the Mallaig to Armadale service in summer, relieving on the Upper Clyde in winter (when MV Lochnevis adds Armadale to her Small Isles roster). Since 2011, when the company's Dunoon service became passenger-only, Coruisk mainly relieved at Rothesay. During the winter period, Coruisk often provides a support service for the Argyll Ferries service from Gourock to Dunoon.In March 2014 she ran into the pier at Dunoon sustaining serious damage but managed to make her own way to Greenock to be assessed for repairs. In 2016, Coruisk became the second vessel on the Oban - Craignure route alongside MV Isle of Mull during the summer timetable period. She was replaced at Mallaig for the 2016 season by the much smaller MV Lochinvar and MV Lord of the Isles (in between the latter's Lochboisdale - Mallaig sailings). This reshuffling of the Mallaig fleet has been largely criticised by campaigners calling for Coruisk to remain at Mallaig with MV Lord of the Isles. In January 2017, it was announced that Coruisk would remain on the Oban - Craignure route for a second summer season: the Skye crossing being operated by MV Lord of the Isles and MV Loch Fyne until the new ferries for Arran and the Uig Triangle are due in service in 2019.

NLV Pharos is a lighthouse tender operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), the body responsible for the operation of lighthouses and marine navigation aids around the coasts of Scotland and the Isle of Man. NLV Pharos and her sister ship, Galatea (2006) were built by Stocznia Remontowa SA, Gdańsk, Poland as part of a £38 million contract. Galatea serves the same role for Trinity House on the coast of England, Wales and the Channel Islands. NLV Pharos is the tenth NLB vessel to carry the name, replacing the ninth Pharos in March 2007. The first Pharos, which operated as a lighthouse vessel from 1799 to 1810, was a simple wooden sloop 49 feet long (approx 15 metres) and 18 feet wide (approx 5½ metres). Pharos was the great lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World NLV Pharos is based in Oban and works mainly in Scottish and Manx waters, servicing over 200 automatic lighthouses, buoys, and beacons. She is also able to carry out hydrographic surveying and wreck finding and other commercial work under contract.

MV Clansman is a ferry owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited and operated by Caledonian MacBrayne, operating from Oban on the west coast of Scotland. The present MV Clansman is the fifth vessel to carry the name in the CalMac fleet over the years. The most recent predecessor was the 1964 built hoist loading ferry. Launched on 27 March 1998 at Appledore Shipbuilders in North Devon, she entered service four months later. As the third largest vessel in the fleet, she brought new levels of capacity and passenger comfort to the routes. The main complaint passengers had was Clansman's lack of open deckspace. The design of the ship was such that exterior areas for passengers came at a premium. Calmac remedied this problem by adding an extension, above the area aft of the bar during her annual overhaul in 2003 Clansman has an almost identical sister ship, MV Hebrides, built in 2000 to a similar specification. In April 2016, Clansman currently serves Coll, Tiree and Colonsay from Oban, with MV Isle of Lewis operating a daily dedicated service to Castlebay. A new daily return service from Lochboisdale to Mallaig commenced in April 2016, thus ending South Uist's direct link with Oban. A cafeteria is situated at the bow, with an observation lounge directly above. Aft are a series of lounges, shop and bar. Above is crew accommodation and a relatively small amount of open deck space. She lacks a forward deck. The car deck has room for approximately 90 cars. It also has a mezzanine deck on the starboard side which can be raised or lowered to allow loading of up to 10 more cars. Recently, the upper deck was extended aft to allow for more open deck space and some deck space sheltered from the elements. Designed specifically for the Oban – Castlebay / Lochboisdale and Oban – Coll / Tiree services, Clansman replaced MV Lord of the Isles. At 99m in length, she is the largest vessel that can safely navigate the numerous channels on her routes. She was however too large to call at Tobermory which was dropped from the Coll/Tiree sailings on her introduction. Each winter since her introduction, Clansman has relieved the larger Calmac units for their annual refit, leaving the route she was built for with Lord of the Isles. She has seen service at Lewis, Uig, Mull and Arran. A breakdown on 17 June 2010 resulted in Clansman being taken out of service for crankshaft repairs, and problems found meanwhile reassembling the engine resulted in an extended disruption to services. CalMac tried to arrange for a replacement vessel, however none could be found available for lease.Out of action for six weeks, the Clansman returned to service later in the summer. After running extra services in August to cater for the Barra Fest music festival, she broke down again en route to Barra after the port engine developed a fault. The repair was effected quickly but the event caused further disruption during the busiest time of the year. From 30 September to 17 October 2016, Clansman relieved on the Uig triangle in place of the MV Hebrides, after the Hebrides was sent to dry dock to repair damage sustained in a collision in Lochmaddy Harbour.

MV Lord of the Isles is one of the larger Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited ferries, run by Caledonian MacBrayne and largely operating from Mallaig on the west of Scotland. Built in Port Glasgow, she is the most-travelled vessel in today's fleet. MV Lord of the Isles, affectionately known as LOTI, was launched on the 7 March 1989 at Ferguson Shipbuilders, Port Glasgow. Although based at Oban for most of her life, she is able to berth and load traffic all over the Clyde and Hebridean Isles network. At 85m long MV Lord of the Isles is one of the biggest ships in the fleet. Broadly similar to MV Isle of Mull at the forward end, while her aft end resembles that of MV Hebridean Isles. The car deck, open at the stern, is capable of holding up to 56 cars. She has a vehicle hoist to allow loading at the older piers. The passenger accommodation provides space for a maximum certificate complement of 506. It consists of lounges, cafeteria, bar and shop on one deck, with an aft observation lounge on the deck above.She is the last vessel in the fleet to have sleeping accommodation for the longer passages. Entering service in 1989 on the Coll / Tiree and Barra / South Uist routes from Oban, LOTI combined two previous timetables. This freed up both Columba (1964) and Claymore (1978) and allowed a cascade to take place within the fleet. She remained at Oban for nine years, occasionally switching places with MV Isle of Mull on the Craignure crossing and relieving at Uig and Ardrossan. In 1998 she was replaced by MV Clansman and transferred to Mallaig to replace the veteran MV Iona on the seasonal Skye service. During the winter months she returned to Oban in a relief role. From 2003 to 2016, LOTI returned to Oban, alongside Isle of Mull and Clansman, providing additional sailings on a wide range of routes. With seven islands appearing regularly in her routine, she is easily the most-travelled vessel in today's fleet. She served on the Ardrossan - Brodick route in 2012, while Caledonian Isles went for overhaul. LOTI was used to commence a trial winter service between Mallaig and Lochboisdale from 2013. Over half of the scheduled trial sailings were cancelled due to adverse weather and tidal conditions.[citation needed] Despite the apparent lack of success, it was announced in September 2015 that she would commence daily return sailings on the route from summer timetable 2016. For the first time, this means that LOTI is now based around Mallaig, not Oban. Lochboisdale no longer has a direct link to Oban, apart from two days a week in Winter, with Mallaig becoming the mainland port. "LOTI" also carries out extra sailings on the Mallaig - Armadale route[citation needed] alongside the 2016 season vessels MV Lochinvar and MV Loch Bhrusda, which had replaced MV Coruisk. This vessel reshuffling has been criticised for the reduced capacity and inadequate passenger accommodation of Lochinvar, with calls for Coruisk to return to Mallaig alongside Lord of the Isles. During the winter 2016/2017 period, she started serving Oban from Lochboisdale two days a week, alongside her thrice-weekly sailings to Mallaig. From March 2017, LOTI will be partnered on the Mallaig - Armadale crossing by MV Loch Fyne, the previous smaller vessels being cascaded elsewhere in the CalMac network until the new ferries for Arran and Uig are due in service in 2019.