Press Releases

It is a wild, rugged, desolate but jewel-like place where few have trodden. But one Western Isles community organisation has brought the dream closer to reality for many in the form of the St Kilda Challenge yacht race.

Have you got on board yet? The ninth annual National Ferry Fortnight runs until May 20 across the UK and CalMac has plenty of tempting offers to get you afloat.

Money raised by Caledonian MacBrayne staff for the RNLI has been presented to volunteers at Oban Lifeboat station.

A Scottish-led academic and industry collaboration has won a top international marine award for a revolutionary project to enhance safety at sea procedures.

It's enough to get the taste buds a-tingling, as CalMac introduces the likes of cullen skink pie, smoked salmon bagels and vegetarian haggis nachos to its ever popular menu.

Two Caledonian MacBrayne vessels have been targeted during critical docking manoeuvres by a powerful laser beam.

Port staff at Caledonian MacBrayne's office in Armadale on the Isle of Skye have created a special fun zone for children.

For the second time in a week, CalMac has stepped forward to pick up a top award recognising its support to Scotland's west coast tourism.

Caledonian MacBrayne, together with The Lane Agency, has won the digital marketing campaign of the year category at The Travel Marketing Awards.

Caledonian MacBrayne has been shortlisted for two major awards recognising its role in supporting rural economies across Scotland's west coast.

A group of three of CalMac's current 19 apprentices, came together this week to celebrate a year of notable milestones for the company's training programmes.

Caledonian MacBrayne's official carrying statistics for 2016 reveal that the west coast of Scotland ferry company passed five million passengers for the first time since 1997.

As Caledonian MacBrayne's managing director and chief executive officer for the David MacBrayne Group, Martin Dorchester has announced that he will remain in post.

A group of around 50 primary 7 students at St Ninian's Primary School in Gourock have been treated to a morning of life on the ocean waves - without even leaving the classroom.

It's seldom too early to plan and, with that in mind, CalMac has launched its 2018 Travel Trade Product Planner aimed at helping coach and tour operators to discover the beauty of Scotland's west coast.

An onboard services manager from Lewis, who has served with CalMac for almost half a century, has hung up his uniform for the last time.

Ferry passengers intending to travel between Lochboisdale and Mallaig next week (w/c January 23) are being advised that the service is being suspended for a short period due to essential maintenance on MV Lord of the Isles.

A new super model has floated into Lochmaddy on North Uist, dressed in black and white with a hint of red - and she intends to stick around for a while.

​Disruption to CalMac routes across the network continues, as Storm Barbara tracks its way across Scotland's west coast, but there has been resumption of services in many areas today (Saturday December 24).

With the well-forecast arrival of Storm Barbara, Caledonian MacBrayne ferries are experiencing widespread disruption across the 200-mile network today (Friday December 23).

The arrival of the UK's second named storm of the winter has been well-publicised by meteorologists and is due to make landfall on Scotland's west coast late Thursday/early Friday (December 22/23).

It is that time of year when we turn our attention to family and friends in anticipation of the fun and relaxation of the festive season.

Operator of the UK's largest ferry network, Caledonian MacBrayne, is refreshing its online ticketing to make it easier to use.

A brand new BBC ALBA series called Storm Heroes - Gaisgich na Stoirme in Gaelic - will begin on Tuesday (November 15) with Caledonian MacBrayne playing a feature role.

Ferry operator CalMac is running an amended timetable to the Isle of Bute to try and minimise disruption caused by the withdrawal of one of the island's two vessels.

West coast ferry operator CalMac has been named today (Monday October 31) as Scottish Living Wage Champion for 2016.

•Record-breaking adventurer Mark Beaumont tells tourism and travel industry leaders that he continues 'to think that Scotland is the world's best adventure playground' •More than 100 people assemble in Glasgow to look at the future of the industry at the CalMac Travel and Tourism Conference 2016, held in Glasgow •Proceedings are opened and led throughout the day by self-confessed CalMac fan broadcaster, journalist and author Muriel Gray •Shirley Spear of internationally-acclaimed restaurant The Three Chimneys explains her aspirations to make Scotland a Good Food Nation

In an innovative film exploring its enduring role at the heart of Scotland's west coast, CalMac launches Your West Coast campaign today (Thursday October 20) - a collaboration with well-known band Skipinnish.

West coast ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has picked up two highly commended accolades at the National Transport Awards (NTA).

Caledonian MacBrayne ferry MV Hebrides left dry dock in Greenock and successfully completed sea trials today (Saturday October 15); she is now journeying north to Oban.

Caledonian MacBrayne ferry MV Hebrides, which was involved in an incident at Lochmaddy on Sunday September 25, will leave dry dock after repairs in Greenock on Saturday (October 15).

Operator of the UK's largest ferry network, Caledonian MacBrayne, has been shortlisted in two categories for prestigious UK-wide awards.

Martin Dorchester, Managing Director of CalMac Ferries Ltd, and Chief Executive of its parent company David MacBrayne Ltd has announced his intention to step down from the company at the end of March 2017.

The £900m contract to operate ferry services on the west coast of Scotland, awarded to CalMac Ferries Ltd by Transport Scotland in May this year, comes into force tomorrow (October 1, 2016).

Caledonian MacBrayne's ferry MV Hebrides, which was involved in an incident on North Uist on Sunday (September 25), successfully sailed from Lochmaddy harbour shortly after 1515 today (Thursday September 29).

Caledonian MacBrayne can confirm that, weather permitting, MV Hebrides will move from her current location at the pier in Lochmaddy, North Uist tomorrow (Thursday September 29) and begin her journey to Greenock. She will enter dry dock at the end of the week.

Caledonian MacBrayne's vessel MV Hebrides, which was involved in an incident at Lochmaddy harbour on Sunday (September 25) due to a mechanical failure, will proceed to dry dock in Greenock for repairs.

Caledonian MacBrayne is continuing to form contingency plans in the wake of an incident involving MV Hebrides at Lochmaddy on North Uist yesterday (Sunday September 25).

Caledonian MacBrayne has confirmed additional sailings to help ease disruption after the incident involving MV Hebrides this morning (1105, Sunday September 25).

Caledonian MacBrayne can confirm that there was an incident at Lochmaddy on North Uist. The incident occurred at 1105 on Sunday (September 25) as MV Hebrides, travelling from Tarbert on Harris, was approaching Lochmaddy Port.

Award-winning ferry operator CalMac Ferries Ltd has gone public for the first time with its ambitious plans to transform west coast ferry services in a new contract beginning on 1 October 2016 for up to eight years.

Summer has just been extended - it's official.

Award-winning ferry operator CalMac Ferries Ltd (CalMac) is pleased to confirm that it has signed the formal contracts with Transport Scotland and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) to operate ferries and harbours on the west coast of Scotland.

Young Luke Ball from Kilmarnock has a dream - but he has less than 40 days left to make it a reality.

Two kind-hearted CalMac staff at Mallaig have raised £500 for the MS Society Scotland with a stall of delicious home-baking available for passengers at the port office.

Two students from Inverclyde have been given an opportunity to gain valuable engineering skills thanks to a new initiative working with schools in the area.

A group of community-spirited Caledonian MacBrayne staff has stepped forward to carry out a clean-up in Lunderston Bay in Inverclyde.

A Caledonian MacBrayne port assistant was invited to join HM The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh at an exclusive gathering.

Seven newly wed couples had CalMac employee Demi Wylie to thank for saving their big day and she's now been recognised for her efforts at the Scottish Transport Awards.

More than 25,000 people packed the esplanade at Greenock over the weekend to support the inaugural P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea.

Staff at CalMac's port in Tarbert, Isle of Harris, have been trained to use a newly donated community defibrillator.

After 100 nautical miles and almost exactly 23 hours at sea, Moonstruck Too, Gordon Lawson's J122, took victory at the inaugural St Kilda Challenge.

At 9.30am today (Friday June 10), 27 yachts left the Sound of Harris in Scotland's Outer Hebrides with their sights set firmly on the St Kilda archipelago - a return journey of some 100 nautical miles.

A fleet of 30 yachts has arrived at the North Uist village of Lochmaddy in Scotland's Outer Hebrides in advance of the inaugural St Kilda Challenge.

Teams at Caledonian MacBrayne have been rewarded for their efforts with three shortlisted nominations for the Scottish Transport Awards.

Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has confirmed it intends making no further changes to the Mallaig-Armadale service this summer but has agreed, after listening to community concerns, that it will review vessel deployment for summer 2017 in consultation with affected communities.

Almost half of the 200-mile long Caledonian MacBrayne network is now live with free public access wi-fi - and the remainder will be completed in early July.

The MV Finlaggan's mezzanine vehicle deck is now back in full working order in time for the Islay Festival of Music and Malt, ferry operator CalMac has confirmed.

CalMac, one of Europe's leading transport operators, has welcomed Transport Scotland's decision to award it the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) contract for up to eight years.

An unwavering commitment to buying, serving and selling local produce on board a fleet of ferries has won a nomination at Scotland's Food and Drink Awards.

Passengers on CalMac's Ullapool to Stornoway route will be the first to trial new enhancements to the company's ticketing system.

The independent report commissioned by CalMac was co-authored and compiled by MacArthur Green environmental consultants and academic specialists at University of the West of Scotland...

Primary school children across some of Scotland's remotest west coast areas will benefit from a touring science education programme for the first time.

A ferry serving Scotland's Small Isles has become the 11th in Caledonian MacBrayne's fleet to achieve the national Taste Our Best status.

Caledonian MacBrayne's brand new campaign for summer 2016 has firmly stuck on a fun badge to challenge the doubting millennial visitor to head for the isles. Hold on to your (woolly) hats!

Caledonian MacBrayne is on track to meet its own greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.

Operator of the UK's largest ferry network, Caledonian MacBrayne has committed support to the first ever P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea.

Kind-hearted CalMac staff have helped to reunite a little girl with her favourite toy pony.

The UK's largest ferry network operator, Caledonian MacBrayne, has picked up the inaugural Creative Business Award at the Arts and Business Scotland Awards.

With the arrival of Storm Henry, adverse weather conditions are predicted to affect Scotland's west coast and Caledonian MacBrayne is advising passengers to check ahead on the company's website, social media feeds or app for disruptions across the network.

As the tail end of Storm Gertrude persists, bringing difficult conditions to Scotland's west coast, services across Caledonian MacBrayne's 200-mile long network continue to be disrupted and passengers are, once again, advised to check ahead.

West Coast ferry services are expected to catch the tail end of the storm that brought near-record snowfall to the eastern US this week.

Work is starting to upgrade facilities at Largs Ferry Terminal.

Improved ferry services across the west coast for this summer have now been finalised between Transport Scotland, local communities and ferry operator CalMac.

Through flexible timetabling and responsive crewing, ferry operator CalMac managed to run around 75% of services to keep islands and isolated communities connected during Storm Frank.

In the face of severe weather warnings ferry operator CalMac is radically altering some sailings in an effort to get people home for Christmas.

CalMac ferry MV Coruisk will again provide extra cover on the Gourock-Dunoon crossing this winter. The vessel will be deployed on December 28 until the end of March 2016.

CalMac Ferries' customer services staff have picked up the Contact Centre Association's global accreditation at a ceremony in Glasgow - the first ferry company ever to achieve the standard.

A cutting edge ferry, which is the third of three unique 'hybrid' vessels, was launched on the Clyde today at Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd's (FMEL) shipyard in Port Glasgow.

A budding amateur film maker from Oban, who won the first CalMac Culture Screen competition, has premiered his short movie in Glasgow, to great acclaim.

Launch of CalMac's new West Coast Whisky Pass

Transport Scotland have decided to harmonise fares on the temporary Stornoway-Uig crossing with the Tarbert-Uig route for the duration of the upgrade work at Ullapool harbour.

Caledonian MacBrayne has become the first ferry company to take VisitScotland's 'Taste Our Best' seal of approval to the high seas.

Two rising music stars were discovered last year when the UK's largest ferry network operator launched the CalMac Culture Music competition.

Caledonian MacBrayne told a conference today (January 23) how it is among the leading UK transport operators in digital infrastructure transformation.

Caledonian MacBrayne has confirmed sponsorship of the Excellence in Customer Focus Award for Greenock Chamber of Commerce's Bee's Knees Awards.

The operator of the UK's largest ferry network, headquartered in Inverclyde at Gourock, has long invested in talented youth, including its own cadets scheme, and was proud to put its name to three awards recognising some of the country's current and rising stars.

Following the meeting of the Stornoway-Ullapool Taskforce set up by Transport Minister Derek Mackay last week, senior managers at ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) have been refining their plans for services during the Ullapool linkspan works and deployment of the MV Loch Seaforth.

Ullapool linkspan was due to close to vehicular traffic for a period of six weeks from February 22 to allow the new replacement linkspan to be fitted. However, delays to the Stornoway upgrade, necessary for the new MV Loch Seaforth to come onto the Stornoway-Ullapool service means that the closure has had to be postponed until April 20.

Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) is warning ferry travellers that forecasters are predicting strong winds to affect many parts of its network at the end of the week and over the weekend, bringing the possibility of major disruptions to ferry services at times.

Debit card changes After monitoring fare payment on certain routes ferry operator CalMac is withdrawing the ability to pay with certain debit cards.

MV CORUISK IN SERVICE AS HARBOUR IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUE

INVESTMENT FOR ULLAPOOL HARBOUR SET TO ENHANCE FERRY SERVICES Ferry operator CalMac has published details of its services from Stornoway when Ullapool linkspan is closed to vehicle traffic from the end of February 2015 due to replacement work .

Martin Dorchester, Managing Director of award-winning ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne ( CalMac) has praised the organisers and participants of the first Scottish Rural Parliament held in Oban last week.

TRANSPORT MINISTER VISITS MV LOCH SEAFORTH Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown MSP, today (Tuesday, November 11) paid a visit to the newest ship in the CalMac fleet, MV Loch Seaforth, which arrived in Scotland from Germany on Friday.

ULLAPOOL LINKSPAN

Switched on CalMac commended at digital marketing awards An innovative digital campaign by ferry operator CalMac has secured them a top berth at the The Herald Digital Awards. The company was commended in the Public Sector category for its campaigncomehomewithcalmac.co.uk which ran over the summer season.

CalMac wins first UK national ferry award Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has sailed home as UK ferry operator of the year at the National Transport Awards 2014.

The ferry operator, Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), has issued details of their plans to manage any disruption ahead of the publishing of the tender for the works by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), the port owners and organisation responsible for its upkeep.

SOPHIE ROGERS & LEANNE SMITH WIN CALMAC MUSIC COMPETITION A competition for aspiring original singer songwriters organised by award-winning ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has been won by Sophie Rogers & Leanne Smith.

Award-winning ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has launched a new Kids Club aimed at enhancing the experience of the thousands of children who sail with them every year to and from Scotland's west coast islands.

A competition for aspiring original singer songwriters organised by award-winning ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) reaches a conclusion this weekend when the final is held at Glasgow's King Tut's on Sunday (June 15).

Today (April 15, 2014) is the 50th anniversary of one of the most important events in the history of ferry services to the West Coast of Scotland.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) has launched a major new addition to its fleet in Flensburg, Germany, today (Friday 21st March).

Senior representatives of CalMac, including Managing Director Martin Dorchester and Chairman David McGibbon are in Stornoway today, to meet a variety of community representatives and discuss the proposed deployment of the MV Loch Seaforth and other issues associated with the Stornoway-Ullapool service.