MV Saturn

MV Saturn arriving at Gourock in May 2009
History
United Kingdom
Name:	1978-2015: Saturn from 2015: Orcadia
Namesake:	Saturn; Orcadia
Operator:	1978-2011: Caledonian MacBrayne from 2015: Pentland Ferries
Port of registry:	Glasgow
Route:	Firth of Clyde 1977 – 1986: Rothesay 1986 – 2000: Wemyss Bay - Rothesay/Gourock - Dunoon / Clyde Cruises 2000 – 2005: Wemyss Bay - Rothesay/Gourock - Dunoon 2005 – 2011: Wemyss Bay - Rothesay/Gourock - Dunoon / Summer Ardrossan-Brodick 2011 – 2015: Laid up, Rosneath 2015 –  : Freight vessel for Pentland Ferries
Builder:	Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon
Yard number:	552
Launched:	30 June 1977
Maiden voyage:	2 February 1978
Identification:	IMO number: 7615490[1] Callsign: GXID MMSI Number: 232003374
Status:	Undergoing major overhaul prior to entry into service with Pentland Ferries.
General characteristics
Tonnage:	851 GRT, 899 GT
Length:	69.5 m (228 ft)
Beam:	13.8 m (45 ft)
Draft:	2.45 m (8 ft)
Depth:	4 m (13 ft)
Installed power:	2 x Mirrlees Blackstone 4SCSA 8-cylinder oil engines, 1000 bhp each
Propulsion:	2 Voith Schneider propellors, one at each end of the hull, on the centreline
Speed:	approximately 12 kn (22 km/h)
Capacity:	531 passengers, 38 cars
Crew:	10
Notes:	[2]

MV Saturn, now called MV Orcadia, is a vessel which was formerly operated as a ro-ro passenger and vehicle ferry by Caledonian MacBrayne in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland between 1978 and 2011. It operated the Rothesay crossing for the first decade of her career and eventually saw service on the Dunoon and Brodick crossings as well. After lengthy lay-up, she was sold in 2015 to Pentland Ferries to be converted for ferry services and work with the renewable energy sector around Orkney and the Pentland Firth.

Description and Construction

Saturn was an evolution of the design used in the earlier Jupiter and Juno, that were launched in 1974. Instead of conventional propellers, all three vessels had two fore-and-aft Voith-Schneider units, which had been so successful on the fleet's 1972 Skye ferries.^[3] This propulsion system made the streakers highly manoeuvrable, greatly reducing turn round times at each end of a route. With Voith-Schneider units, thrust can be directed through a full 360 degrees, removing the need for a rudder. The amount of thrust and hence the vessel's speed, is controlled by varying the pitch, while the engine runs at a constant speed.^[4]

The vessel incorporates a large open vehicle deck towards the stern, with passenger accommodation and services towards the bow across three decks. The design is of the roll-on/roll-off type, with cars driving on either over the stern ramp or using one of the ramps amidships that lower to port and starboard respectively. She has two passenger lounges, one with a cafeteria. There is crew accommodation on the upper deck and open-air passenger areas.

Unlike her quasi-sister ships, Jupiter and Juno, Saturn's bridge was constructed one deck above the upper passenger deck, giving passenger access right round the front of the ship, allowing views directly over the bow.^[5][6] Saturn did not have the large mast structure fitted above the car decks of her quasi-sisters.^[7]

History

CalMac Service

Together with her sister ships, Saturn formed a new generation of car ferries built in the 1970s to serve the routes on the Firth of Clyde. These ships were nicknamed the "Streakers" because of their greater speed (compared to what had served the area’s routes previously) and superb manoeuvrability (due to their novel propulsion units).^[5]

Saturn approaching Gourock pierhead, with "Caledonian Macbrayne" having replaced "Rothesay Ferry" on the hull.

With "Rothesay Ferry" emblazoned on her hull, Saturn operated primarily on the Wemyss Bay – Rothesay crossing for much of her first decade.^[8] From 1986, a new rostering policy saw the three streakers switching between the Rothesay and Dunoon routes. The third vessel provided additional peak sailings on both crossings, served Kilcreggan and, between 1993 and 1999, provided cruises on summer afternoons. Later, there were two vessels at Rothesay for most of the day.

After more than 35 years, the Streakers were replaced by a new generation of CalMac ferries designed for the Upper Firth, just as in the 1970s they had replaced an earlier generation. Bute came into service on the Rothesay route in 2005, followed by Argyle in 2007. With Bute's introduction, Saturn moved down the firth to Ardrossan, assisting Caledonian Isles on the Brodick crossing during summer,^[6] and assisting with Gourock–Dunoon winter sailings.^[9]

Last of the Clyde Streakers

Juno was taken out of service in 2007, and laid up at Rosneath until it was dismantled there. In late October 2010 Jupiter went out of service, and was stored at Rosneath pier until on 25 June 2011 she was towed away down the Clyde to be broken up in Denmark.^[10]

Saturn was the main ferry on the Gourock–Dunoon route for the last 9 months of the vehicle crossing, before the route was made passenger only. The Caledonian MacBrayne vehicle service there finished on 29 June 2011,^[11] and Saturn returned to assisting at Ardrossan. She was back on the Bute run on 20 August 2011 to provide extra sailings for the Bute Highland Games , subsequently returning to Gourock on 27 August 2011 to help out the Argyll Ferries passenger ferries on the busiest weekend of the year for the Cowal Gathering (Highland Games) in Dunoon.^[12] These turned out to be her final passenger sailings for Calmac, as she was no longer required in the fleet with no Gourock-Dunoon vehicle service and the MV Isle of Arran being spare following the introduction of the MV Finlaggan.

Laid up at Rosneath

Saturn in January 2015, laid up at Rosneath

Saturn was de-stored at Gourock and moved to Rosneath on 30 August 2011. She was laid up, awaiting a decision on future service.^[13]

In November 2011, she moved to the inside of the pier to clear a space for the MV Coruisk. By March 2012, despite still shown as a "relief" vessel for Calmac, it was suggested that the vessel had been at least partially stripped since being laid up - frustrating calls by local activists to have her re-instated on the Dunoon-Gourock route as a replacement for the MV Ali Cat. By July 2012, Saturn had been de-registered from the Calmac fleet. She had no sailing certificate and this was highly unlikely to be renewed with MV Isle of Arran having taken over her only remaining work, the Summer additional sailing to Brodick from Ardrossan.

In the Summer of 2014 there seemed to be little progress with the future of the vessel. In response to the ships ongoing deterioration whilst laid up at Rosneath, a small grass roots campaign was launched by those interested & passionate in the fate of MV Saturn.

As of November 2014 the group announced they had been in talks over the fate of the vessel, and now had an opportunity to move forward. In December 2014 the "Campaign to Save MV Saturn" merged with other efforts from across Scotland and the wider United Kingdom to see the vessel saved, and in turn launched one last surge on making an appeal to save the vessel at its eleventh hour. It was expected that Saturn was set to be broken up for recycling in Spring 2015, with the final decision expected to be sealed at the beginning of February 2015.

Pentland Ferries

Saturn getting repainted in the James Watt Dock, Greenock

Saturn remains as the last & youngest of the Clyde Streakers.

After years of speculation, CMAL announced in February 2015 that Saturn had been sold to Pentland Ferries to be converted for use as a freighter and for renewable energy work around Orkney and the Pentland Firth.^[14] Her engines were restarted around the 20 February 2015 and all systems found to be in good working order.

On 25 February Saturn was towed from her berth at Rosneath to the Garvel dry dock in Greenock for a major overhaul,^[15] sharing the dock with the sail training ship Stavros S Niarchos.^[16] Both were towed round to the James Watt Dock in March. The lower part of Saturn's hull had been painted red,^[17] and repainting in Pentland Ferries red livery continued, with their logo replacing the CalMac logo on the funnel. On 10 April 2015 the new name Orcadia was seen on the bow and stern of the vessel.^[18]

Saturn, renamed Orcadia, in the James Watt Dock, with MV Isle of Arran in the Garvel dry dock.

Stern view of Orcadia, registered in Glasgow.

Funnels, showing the logos of CalMac and Pentland Ferries.

Orcadia left James Watt Dock on 22 April 2015 and headed north for berthing trails at St. Margaret's Hope. She went on Stromness for more work to be done. She did not take up service by the summer of 2015 as expected and remains laid up at Stromness. Visitors are said to hear drilling, hammering and welding noises and it is unknown when she will start service.

Footnotes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to MV Saturn.

External links

• Campaign to Save MV Saturn
• Enthusiasts campaign to save former Rothesay Ferry
• Official Preservation Group
• Official CMAL Page