Professor John Robertson OBA

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Under a photo of a clearly labelled CalMac ferry, the Daily Record yesterday:

A passenger has been rescued after a man fell overboard from a CalMac ferry earlier today. The incident took place on the operator’s Troon to Brodick route in the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire at 1.50pm on Saturday, August 16….A spokesperson for CalMac said: “We can confirm a passenger went overboard on the 13.35 Troon-Brodick sailing operated by MV Alfred.

The MV Alfred, a Vietnam-built, twinned hull catamaran ferry is on temporary hire with CalMac from Pentland Ferries. CalMac has no catamarans, only mono-hulls, as it operates in the worlds stormiest seas.

Might the overboard fall be due to sea sickness, associated with catamarans:

From the Bournemouth Daily Echo, March 2025:

The Condor Liberation has made its final passage through Poole Harbour and out to sea. The ferry made its final departure from Poole at around 10am on Friday morning, March 28,, escorted through the harbour by a flotilla of our Harbour Master’s team and other working vessels, paying tribute to her years of service.¹

How many years of service?

Originally named Austal 102, it was built Austal at its shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia as a speculative order. It was launched in January 2010 and was laid up at the shipyard for four years before an owner was found. In 2014, Condor Ferries extended its agreement to run Channel Island services until 2020 and subsequently purchased Austal 270 which it named Condor Liberation. After being modified at Austal’s Philippines yard, it entered service with Condor Ferries on 27 March 2015 operating out of Poole. On the 10 February 2025 it was announced Condor Ferries had put the ship up for sale.²

Just the 10 years in the Channel?

How did it go?

On 28 March 2015, the day after she entered official commercial service, Condor Liberation hit the quayside in Guernsey in strong winds. The collision caused damage to her hull which prevented further use of the vessel until repaired.

Condor Liberation has received numerous reports from passengers about the vessel’s rolling characteristics. Notably an incident on 18 May 2015 prompted in excess of 50 reports of “Corkscrewing” in two metre seas on her evening sailing from Guernsey to Poole. This included a video filmed on board at the time of the incident clearly showing Condor Liberation listing heavily. Condor later reiterated the safety of the vessel noting the important difference between safety (and stability) and ride comfort.

Amid reports of ride problems and procedures for passenger embarkation (involving embarking via car decks for foot passengers), it was reported that the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) would launch an investigation into the vessel’s suitability to operate in the waters of the English Channel.²

Catamarans not suitable for the stormy Channel? How does Poole compare with CalMac’s regular seas? See this:

So the MV Alfred was considered only suitable for the relatively calm Troon to Arran crossing? Like Poole is Troon to arran still too nausea inducing?

Are catamarans OK in other places, say a Canadian lake?

Canada buys two catamaran ferries from Romania which take another two years to make ready then quickly prove unsuitable for the conditions

More on the MV Alfred:

At about 14:00 on 5 July 2022, Alfred grounded on the uninhabited island of Swona while en route from Gills Bay to St Margaret’s Hope. It resulted in damage to the port bulbous bow and no reported water ingress. There were 84 passengers and 13 crew on board at the time of grounding. Some passengers sustained injuries, such as fractures, sprains and soft tissue damage; one passenger was hospitalised.⁴

Sources:

1. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/farewell-condor-liberation-ferry-leaves-poole-for-final-time/ar-AA1BQM63?ocid=BingNewsVerp

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSC_Condor_Liberation

3. https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/33976~33105~36371~41551/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Stornoway-Isle-of-North-Uist-Troon-and-Poole#google_vignette

4. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-63007663