What is being planned for the Dunoon and Kilcreggan ferry services and who is involved?

October 11, 2020 Transport

**MV Chieftain has remained the main vessel after CalMac took over the Kilcreggan route from Clyde Marine last year. Picture by Louise Walker**

A steering group is planning drastic changes for the Dunoon and Kilcreggan ferries – here are some of the key names involved:

Argyll and Bute Council: Owns the piers at Kilcreggan and Dunoon, as well as a linkspan at Dunoon which cost £5.4m – this was intended for vehicles but has never been used for that purpose.
CalMac: A subsidiary of David MacBrayne Ltd, a publicly-owned private company of which the Scottish Government is the only shareholder. It took over the Kilcreggan ferry service in 2020.
CMAL: Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd owns Gourock pier – like CalMac, it is wholly owned by the Scottish Government, with Scottish Ministers the sole shareholders. Almost all the ferries operated by CalMac are owned by CMAL.
Kilcreggan pier: Built in the 19th century, this is a B-listed wooden pier that is used by the ferry to Gourock as well as the Waverley.
MV Ali Cat, MV Argyll Flyer: Passenger-only ferries which have run between Gourock and Dunoon since 2011, with many complaints about their lack of reliability. Originally operated by Argyll Ferries, yet another publicly-owned private company of which the Scottish Government is the only shareholder, and then by CalMac since January 2019. These are the only ferries owned by CalMac.
MV Chieftain: The passenger ferry on the Kilcreggan-Gourock route. Operated by CalMac but leased from Clyde Marine Services, it was previously called the Seabus and served on that route until SPT made the disastrous decision to give the contract to Clydelink until 2012. It has been the regular boat on the Kilcreggan run since SPT finally ended Clydelink’s contract in 2018.
SPT: Strathclyde Partnership for Transport was responsible for the Kilcreggan ferry until May this year. During the previous eight years SPT cut weekday sailings by 20%, axed Sunday sailings, as well as the Helensburgh link completely and increased ticket prices by 50% at a stroke.
Streakers: Saturn, Jupiter and Juno were car and passenger ferries which covered the Dunoon-Gourock and Wemyss Bay-Rothesay routes from the 1970s until 2011.
Transport Scotland: The national transport agency, part of the Scottish Government.