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104-583: Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited is a shipbuilding company whose yard , located in Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, was established in 1903. It is the last remaining shipbuilder on the lower Clyde and is currently the only builder of merchant ships on the river. For some years the company's mainstay has been Roll-on/roll-off ferries, primarily for Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), including

208-464: A shipbreakers for final disposal. CMAL is Harbour Authority at 24 locations across Scotland and owns the associated port infrastructure and properties at each of these locations. Additionally, CMAL owns and leases a number of properties at various locations associated with the delivery of Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services. As Statutory Harbour Authority for a number of these harbours, CMAL's responsibilities and duties include: On 17 December 2012,

312-601: A solar barque . Early Egyptians also knew how to fasten the planks of this ship together with mortise and tenon joints. The oldest known tidal dock in the world was built around 2500 BC during the Harappan civilisation at Lothal near the present day Mangrol harbour on the Gujarat coast in India . Other ports were probably at Balakot and Dwarka . However, it is probable that many small-scale ports, and not massive ports, were used for

416-618: A CalMac ferry had been won by the Remontowa shipyard in Gdańsk . The environment and rural affairs minister Ross Finnie said "If the contracts were awarded to the Rementowa (Polish) yard, there were no other orders in prospect for the Clydeside shipyard and since the launch of its last ship a month previously, the yard had declined to a state that was close to irreversible." The cabinet noted "with concern

520-522: A bitter dispute between the Scottish Government and the former owners of the shipyard. On 16 August Finance Secretary Derek Mackay visited the yard to announce that the Scottish Government would take over management of Ferguson Marine to allow work to continue on current orders, and that if no private buyer could be found in four weeks, the yard would be nationalised by purchase. The government appointed marine engineer Tim Hair as turnaround director. At

624-426: A broad beam and heavily curved at both ends. Another important ship type was the galley, which was constructed with both sails and oars. The first extant treatise on shipbuilding was written c.  1436 by Michael of Rhodes, a man who began his career as an oarsman on a Venetian galley in 1401 and worked his way up into officer positions. He wrote and illustrated a book that contains a treatise on shipbuilding,

728-525: A contract to construct a large air cushioned barge for Mangistau ACV Solutions Ltd, part of the CMI Offshore Ltd Group, with estimated completion scheduled in 2019. In December 2018 FMEL announced that two orders worth £5.4 million had been secured from Inverlussa Marine Services for fish farm support vessels, to be completed in May 2019, and that three more for fishing vessels, totaling £11 million, were in

832-410: A curved, progressive joint could not be achieved. One study finds that there were considerable improvements in ship speed from 1750 to 1850: "we find that average sailing speeds of British ships in moderate to strong winds rose by nearly a third. Driving this steady progress seems to be the continuous evolution of sails and rigging, and improved hulls that allowed a greater area of sail to be set safely in

936-573: A given wind. By contrast, looking at every voyage between the Netherlands and East Indies undertaken by the Dutch East India Company from 1595 to 1795, we find that journey time fell only by 10 percent, with no improvement in the heavy mortality, averaging six percent per voyage, of those aboard." Initially copying wooden construction traditions with a frame over which the hull was fastened, Isambard Kingdom Brunel 's Great Britain of 1843

1040-499: A high degree of commercialization and an increase in trade. Large numbers of ships were built to meet the demand. The Ming voyages were large in size, numbering as many as 300 ships and 28,000 men. The shipbuilders were brought from different places in China to the shipyard in Nanjing , including Zhejiang , Jiangxi , Fujian , and Huguang (now the provinces of Hubei and Hunan ). One of

1144-570: A level playing field for all bidders, on 1 October 2006 Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd was split into: This was done by Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd transferring its operations—but not its assets—to CFL. The operation of the lifeline ferry service was then put out to open competitive tender. CMAL now owns all vessels, the majority of land based assets (ports, harbours etc.) and the Caledonian MacBrayne brand, and makes them available to an operator through an open tendering process. CFL continues to operate

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1248-627: A new terminal at Gasay, near Lochboisdale, as the current pier is getting to the end of its life. This project is currently at the design phase, and as of February 2024 a date for procurement was still to be confirmed. The CMAL Corporate Plan for 2024-2027 envisages the start of the design phase for two new major units to replace MV  Isle of Mull and MV  Loch Frisa on the Oban - Craignure service. As of August 2024 this project had yet to commence. CMAL has come under significant criticism for its handling of procurement, particularly in relation to

1352-607: A number of inter-visible islands, boats (and, later, ships) with water-tight hulls (unlike the "flow through" structure of a raft) could be developed. The ships of ancient Egypt were built by joining the hull planks together, edge to edge, with tenons set in mortices cut in the mating edges. A similar technique, but with the tenons being pinned in position by dowels, was used in the Mediterranean for most of classical antiquity . Both these variants are "shell first" techniques, where any reinforcing frames are inserted after assembly of

1456-406: A range of sailing rigs that included the crab claw sail . The origins of this technology is difficult to date, relying largely on linguistics (studying the words for parts of boats), the written comments of people from other cultures, including the observations of European explorers at the time of first contact and the later more systematic ethnographic observations of the types of craft in use. There

1560-536: A series of hybrid diesel-electric/battery-powered vessels. Beset with difficulties since 2018 over their latest two CalMac ferries, Fergusons' largest ever vessel, the shipyard was nationalised in December 2019. It is now classified as an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government . The Ferguson shipyard was founded as a partnership by four brothers, (Peter, Daniel, Louis and Robert) who left

1664-468: A significant number of workers, and generate income as the shipbuilding market is global . Caledonian Maritime Assets Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (usually shortened to CMAL or CMAssets ; Stòras Mara Cailleannach Earr in Scottish Gaelic ) owns the ferries , ports , harbours and infrastructure for the ferry services serving the west coast of Scotland, the Firth of Clyde and

1768-863: A similar design. Austronesians established the Austronesian maritime trade network at around 1000 to 600 BC, linking Southeast Asia with East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and later East Africa. The route later became part of the Spice trade network and the Maritime Silk Road . The naval history of China stems back to the Spring and Autumn period (722 BC–481 BC) of the ancient Chinese Zhou dynasty . The Chinese built large rectangular barges known as "castle ships", which were essentially floating fortresses complete with multiple decks with guarded ramparts . However,

1872-411: A single piece of hollowed-out log. At the sides were two planks, and two horseshoe-shaped wood pieces formed the prow and stern . These were fitted tightly together edge-to-edge with dowels inserted into holes in between, and then lashed to each other with ropes (made from rattan or fiber) wrapped around protruding lugs on the planks. This characteristic and ancient Austronesian boatbuilding practice

1976-518: A treatise on mathematics, much material on astrology, and other materials. His treatise on shipbuilding treats three kinds of galleys and two kinds of round ships. Shipbuilders in the Ming dynasty (1368~1644) were not the same as the shipbuilders in other Chinese dynasties, due to hundreds of years of accumulated experiences and rapid changes in the Ming dynasty. Shipbuilders in the Ming dynasty primarily worked for

2080-653: A two-year delay for the first ship, Glen Sannox , which was launched in November 2017. FMEL was part of two consortia's bids for the programme for five type 31 frigates for the Royal Navy , worth some £1.25 billion. The consortia are those led by Babcock International and Atlas Elektronik UK . After their bid was selected, a contract was formally awarded to Babcock Group on 15 November 2019, for an average production cost of £250 million per ship and an overall programme cost set to be £2 billion. On 30 October 2018, FMEL secured

2184-467: Is a famous example). Later Great Britain ' s iron hull was sheathed in wood to enable it to carry a copper-based sheathing . Brunel's Great Eastern represented the next great development in shipbuilding. Built-in association with John Scott Russell , it used longitudinal stringers for strength, inner and outer hulls, and bulkheads to form multiple watertight compartments. Steel also supplanted wrought iron when it became readily available in

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2288-654: Is a possibility that they may have reached the Americas . After the 11th century, a new type of ship called djong or jong was recorded in Java and Bali. This type of ship was built using wooden dowels and treenails, unlike the kunlun bo which used vegetal fibres for lashings. The empire of Majapahit used jong, built in northern Java, for transporting troops overseas. The jongs were transport ships which could carry 100–2000 tons of cargo and 50–1000 people, 28.99–88.56 meter in length. The exact number of jong fielded by Majapahit

2392-458: Is aiming to delivering earlier – Glen Sannox in autumn 2023 and Hull 802 before late summer 2024. In May 2023, Ferguson announced that it had secured an initial contract with BAE Systems to fabricate three steel units for HMS Belfast , the third City Class Type 26 frigate currently being constructed by BAE Systems. Ferry fiasco - for the Scottish political controversy around the construction of

2496-539: Is called ship breaking . The earliest evidence of maritime transport by modern humans is the settlement of Australia between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. This almost certainly involved rafts , possibly equipped with some sort of sail . Much of the development beyond that raft technology occurred in the "nursery" areas of the Mediterranean and in Maritime Southeast Asia . Favoured by warmer waters and

2600-631: Is from the 6th to 5th millennium BC of the Ubaid period of Mesopotamia . They were made from bundled reeds coated in bitumen and had bipod masts. They sailed in shallow coastal waters of the Persian Gulf . Evidence from Ancient Egypt shows that the early Egyptians knew how to assemble planks of wood into a ship hull as early as 3100 BC. Egyptian pottery as old as 4000 BC shows designs of early fluvial boats or other means for navigation. The Archaeological Institute of America reports that some of

2704-600: Is known as the " lashed-lug " technique. They were commonly caulked with pastes made from various plants as well as tapa bark and fibres which would expand when wet, further tightening joints and making the hull watertight. They formed the shell of the boat, which was then reinforced by horizontal ribs. Shipwrecks of Austronesian ships can be identified from this construction as well as the absence of metal nails. Austronesian ships traditionally had no central rudders but were instead steered using an oar on one side. Austronesians traditionally made their sails from woven mats of

2808-571: Is noted in the works of Ibn Jubayr . The ships of Ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty were typically about 25 meters (80 ft) in length and had a single mast , sometimes consisting of two poles lashed together at the top making an "A" shape. They mounted a single square sail on a yard , with an additional spar along the bottom of the sail. These ships could also be oar propelled. The ocean- and sea-going ships of Ancient Egypt were constructed with cedar wood, most likely hailing from Lebanon. The ships of Phoenicia seem to have been of

2912-594: Is now undergoing crew familiarisation and harbour berthing trials. She is due to enter service on the Troon-Brodick route in early 2025. The expected delivery date for MV  Glen Rosa is May 2025. At Uig and Ardrossan for the dual-fuel vessels under construction. This project is to replace the oldest of the Loch class , in two phases over ten years. The new vessels would be more environmentally friendly and meet higher regulatory standards. The first phase will be for

3016-499: Is only a small body of archaeological evidence available. Since Island Southeast Asia contained effective maritime transport between its very large number of islands long before Austronesian seafaring, it is argued that Austronesians adopted an existing maritime technology from the existing inhabitants of this region. Austronesian ships varied from simple canoes to large multihull ships. The simplest form of all ancestral Austronesian boats had five parts. The bottom part consists of

3120-411: Is unknown, but the largest number of jong deployed in an expedition is about 400 jongs, when Majapahit attacked Pasai, in 1350. Until recently, Viking longships were seen as marking an advance on traditional clinker -built hulls where leather thongs were used to join plank boards. This consensus has recently been challenged. Haywood has argued that earlier Frankish and Anglo-Saxon nautical practice

3224-571: The ghe mành . Early Egyptians also knew how to assemble planks of wood with treenails to fasten them together, using pitch for caulking the seams. The " Khufu ship ", a 43.6-meter vessel sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza in the Fourth Dynasty around 2500 BC, is a full-size surviving example which may have fulfilled the symbolic function of

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3328-579: The k'un-lun po or kunlun bo ("ship of the k'un-lun [dark-skinned southern people]"). These ships used two types of sail of their invention, the junk sail and tanja sail . Large ships are about 50–60 metres (164–197 ft) long, had 5.2–7.8 metres (17–26 ft) tall freeboard , each carrying provisions enough for a year, and could carry 200–1000 people. The Chinese recorded that these Southeast Asian ships were hired for passage to South Asia by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims and travelers, because they did not build seaworthy ships of their own until around

3432-702: The Abbasid period. Mughal Empire had a large shipbuilding industry, which was largely centred in the Bengal Subah . Economic historian Indrajit Ray estimates shipbuilding output of Bengal during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries at 223,250 tons annually, compared with 23,061 tons produced in nineteen colonies in North America from 1769 to 1771. He also assesses ship repairing as very advanced in Bengal. Documents from 1506, for example, refer to watercraft on

3536-663: The Fleming & Ferguson shipyard in Paisley to lease the Newark yard in Port Glasgow in March 1903. The first vessel built by Messrs. Ferguson Brothers in the yard was the tug Flying Swift , launched on 26 October 1903. Ferguson Brothers acquired the freehold in the yard in 1907 and was incorporated as Ferguson Brothers (Port Glasgow) Ltd in 1912. The company was purchased by John Slater Ltd (Amalgamated Industries) in 1918 but returned to control of

3640-514: The Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa. Shipbuilding Until recently, with the development of complex non-maritime technologies, a ship has often represented the most advanced structure that the society building it could produce. Some key industrial advances were developed to support shipbuilding, for instance the sawing of timbers by mechanical saws propelled by windmills in Dutch shipyards during

3744-533: The Napoleonic Wars were still built more or less to the same basic plan as those of the Spanish Armada of two centuries earlier, although there had been numerous subtle improvements in ship design and construction throughout this period. For instance, the introduction of tumblehome , adjustments to the shapes of sails and hulls, the introduction of the wheel, the introduction of hardened copper fastenings below

3848-453: The Sierra Leone river carrying 120 men. Others refer to Guinea coast peoples using war canoes of varying sizes – some 70 feet in length, 7–8 feet broad, with sharp pointed ends, rowing benches on the side, and quarterdecks or forecastles build of reeds. The watercraft included miscellaneous facilities, such as cooking hearths, and storage spaces for the crew's sleeping mats. From

3952-536: The 17th century, some kingdoms added brass or iron cannons to their vessels. By the 18th century, however, the use of swivel cannons on war canoes accelerated. The city-state of Lagos , for instance, deployed war canoes armed with swivel cannons. With the development of the carrack , the west moved into a new era of ship construction by building the first regular oceangoing vessels. In a relatively short time, these ships grew to an unprecedented size, complexity, and cost. Shipyards became large industrial complexes, and

4056-690: The 5,000-year-old ship may have even belonged to Pharaoh Aha . The Austronesian expansion , which began c.  3000 BC with migration from Taiwan to the island of Luzon in the Philippines , spread across Island Southeast Asia . Then, between 1500 BC and 1500 AD they settled uninhabited islands of the Pacific, and also sailed westward to Madagascar. This is associated with distinctive maritime technology: lashed lug construction techniques (both in outrigger canoes and in large planked sailing vessels), various types of outrigger and twin-hulled canoes and

4160-590: The 8–9th century AD. Austronesians (especially from western Island Southeast Asia ) were trading in the Indian Ocean as far as Africa during this period. By around 50 to 500 AD, a group of Austronesians, believed to be from the southeastern coasts of Borneo (possibly a mixed group related to the modern Ma'anyan , Banjar , and/or the Dayak people ) crossed the Indian Ocean and colonized Madagascar . This resulted in

4264-731: The Admiral Zheng He . Six voyages were conducted under the Yongle Emperor's reign, the last of which returned to China in 1422. After the Yongle Emperor's death in 1424, his successor the Hongxi Emperor ordered the suspension of the voyages. The seventh and final voyage began in 1430, sent by the Xuande Emperor . Although the Hongxi and Xuande Emperors did not emphasize sailing as much as the Yongle Emperor, they were not against it. This led to

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4368-499: The Chinese vessels during this era were essentially fluvial (riverine). True ocean-going Chinese fleets did not appear until the 10th century Song dynasty . There is considerable knowledge regarding shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient Mediterranean. Large multi-masted seafaring ships of Southeast Asian Austronesians first started appearing in Chinese records during the Han dynasty as

4472-648: The Chinese, from the Old Javanese parahu , Javanese prau , or Malay perahu – large ship. Southern Chinese junks showed characteristics of Austronesian ships that they are made using timbers of tropical origin, with keeled, V-shaped hull. This is different from northern Chinese junks, which are developed from flat-bottomed riverine boats. The northern Chinese junks were primarily built of pine or fir wood, had flat bottoms with no keel, water-tight bulkheads with no frames, transom (squared) stern and stem, and have their planks fastened with iron nails or clamps. It

4576-708: The Ferguson family in the late 1920s. Lithgows Ltd purchased an interest in the business after Bobby Ferguson's death in 1954 and took control of the Company in 1961. Ferguson Brothers remained a separate entity within the Scott Lithgow group from 1969 to 1977. The company was nationalised and subsumed into British Shipbuilders in 1977, then merged with the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company to form Ferguson-Ailsa Ltd in 1980. Ferguson and Ailsa were separated in 1986 when

4680-561: The Han dynasty junk ship design in the same century. The Chinese were using square sails during the Han dynasty and adopted the Austronesian junk sail later in the 12th century. Iconographic remains show that Chinese ships before the 12th century used square sails, and the junk rig of Chinese ships is believed to be developed from tilted sails . Southern Chinese junks were based on keeled and multi-planked Austronesian ship known as po by

4784-695: The Harappan maritime trade. Ships from the harbour at these ancient port cities established trade with Mesopotamia . Shipbuilding and boatmaking may have been prosperous industries in ancient India. Native labourers may have manufactured the flotilla of boats used by Alexander the Great to navigate across the Hydaspes and even the Indus , under Nearchos . The Indians also exported teak for shipbuilding to ancient Persia . Other references to Indian timber used for shipbuilding

4888-578: The Northern Isles. CMAL is a wholly owned public corporation of the Scottish Government , with Scottish ministers as sole shareholders. Until 1 October 2006 Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd, which was wholly owned by the Scottish government, provided the majority of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services and owned the associated vessels and a number of the ports and harbour facilities that the vessels used. These services required an annual revenue deficit grant from

4992-484: The United States in a 15-year period just before the war was a grand total of two. During the war, thousands of Liberty ships and Victory ships were built, many of them in shipyards that did not exist before the war. And, they were built by a workforce consisting largely of women and other inexperienced workers who had never seen a ship before (or even the ocean). After World War II , shipbuilding (which encompasses

5096-578: The building of seven new vessels for the following routes. The procurement process began in July 2024, with an invitation to tender expected to be issued around September 2024, and a contract expected to be awarded in March 2025. The second phase began initial design and port feasibility studies in August 2024. The following routes are in scope for this phase: This project is to replace MV  Hebridean Isles and MV  Finlaggan (to be cascaded elsewhere in

5200-496: The building programme of MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa , both under construction at Ferguson Shipyard in Port Glasgow. The function and future of CMAL is currently under consideration by the Scottish Government via Project Neptune which is considering the management and delivery of Scottish ferry services. The future of CMAL is subject to a number of proposals being made including re-merging CMAL and Caledonian MacBrayne as

5304-495: The end of the Ming dynasty in 1644. During this period, Chinese navigation technology did not make any progress and even declined in some aspect. In the Islamic world, shipbuilding thrived at Basra and Alexandria . The dhow , felucca , baghlah , and the sambuk became symbols of successful maritime trade around the Indian Ocean from the ports of East Africa to Southeast Asia and the ports of Sindh and Hind (India) during

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5408-457: The first half of the 17th century. The design process saw the early adoption of the logarithm (invented in 1615) to generate the curves used to produce the shape of a hull , especially when scaling up these curves accurately in the mould loft . Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both commercial and military, are referred to as naval engineering . The construction of boats is a similar activity called boat building . The dismantling of ships

5512-435: The first vessel, while the first steel was cut for the second vessel. A public vote to select the names for the two vessels began on 30 November 2023, with voting closing at midnight on Monday 18th December. The names MV  Claymore and MV  Lochmor were selected: MV Claymore is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2025 with MV Lochmor expected to be delivered by the end of 2025. Replacements for

5616-448: The five vessels operated by NorthLink Ferries on routes to the Orkney and Shetland islands would also join the fleet. Many ferries are specially built for the ports they serve yet are still interchangeable and able to serve different crossings and can carry from one to 143 cars. The total fleet value was estimated at £130m in 2017. The newest vessel in the fleet, MV  Glen Sannox ,

5720-575: The government, under command of the Ministry of Public Works . During the early years of the Ming dynasty, the Ming government maintained an open policy towards sailing. Between 1405 and 1433, the government conducted seven diplomatic Ming treasure voyages to over thirty countries in Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Eastern Africa. The voyages were initiated by the Yongle Emperor , and led by

5824-507: The infrastructure required to transport the trees from their point of origin to the shipyards. Shipbuilders were usually divided into different groups and had separate jobs. Some were responsible for fixing old ships; some were responsible for making the keel and some were responsible for building the helm. After 1477, the Ming government reversed its open maritime policies, enacting a series of isolationist policies in response to piracy . The policies, called Haijin (sea ban), lasted until

5928-482: The intention of operating seven days per week. On 15 March the 26-metre fish treatment workboat for Inverlussa was airbag launched , and named Kallista Helen . The bulbous bow of Hull 802 was fitted in September 2021, and reported as a landmark in significant progress to both ships, deliveries of which by January 2022 were running up to five years late. Fergusons had bid for two new ferries to be ordered by CMAL , but

6032-524: The introduction of outrigger canoe technology to non-Austronesian cultures in the East African coast. The ancient Chinese also built fluvial ramming vessels as in the Greco-Roman tradition of the trireme , although oar-steered ships in China lost favor very early on since it was in the 1st century China that the stern -mounted rudder was first developed. This was dually met with the introduction of

6136-432: The keel for Loch Indaal was laid. The vessels utilise Voith Schneider Propulsion and bow thrusters. Isle of Islay is expected to be delivered during the first quarter of 2025, with Loch Indaal expected to be delivered in the second quarter of the year. This project is to replace MV  Hebrides (to be cascaded elsewhere in the network) and split the routes in the summer, having one vessel going to Lochmaddy and

6240-485: The keel, the hull was made by overlapping nine strakes on either side with rivets fastening the oaken planks together. It could hold upwards of thirty men. Sometime around the 12th century, northern European ships began to be built with a straight sternpost , enabling the mounting of a rudder, which was much more durable than a steering oar held over the side. Development in the Middle Ages favored "round ships", with

6344-620: The large prefabrication shed. The 21-metre fish farm workboat was named Helen Rice in a launch ceremony on 27 January 2020 attended by Scotland's finance and economy secretary Derek Mackay, then lifted by crane into the water on 29 January. Sea trials and delivery were completed in March. That month, Ferguson Marine announced that they had taken a four year lease on a large warehouse sited at Greenock waterfront, and would use it to consolidate stock and materials which had been stored in several warehouses near Glasgow Airport . The large air cushioned barge for CMI Offshore Ltd (ordered from FMEL in 2018)

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6448-470: The latter half of the 19th century, providing great savings when compared with iron in cost and weight. Wood continued to be favored for the decks. During World War II , the need for cargo ships was so great that construction time for Liberty ships went from initially eight months or longer, down to weeks or even days. They employed production line and prefabrication techniques such as those used in shipyards today. The total number of dry-cargo ships built in

6552-516: The latter yard was sold and Ferguson was merged with Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon to form Appledore Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd . By the late 1980s only the Appledore Ferguson yards were still held in state ownership. Ferguson was demerged from Appledore and acquired by Greenock -based engineering firm Clark Kincaid in 1989 then started trading as Ferguson Shipbuilders . Clark Kincaid itself

6656-412: The mid-18th century and from the mid-19th century onwards. This was partly led by the shortage of "compass timber", the naturally curved timber that meant that shapes could be cut without weaknesses caused by cuts across the grain of the timber. Ultimately, whole ships were made of iron and, later, steel . The earliest known depictions (including paintings and models) of shallow-water sailing boats

6760-555: The most famous shipyards was Long Jiang Shipyard ( zh:龙江船厂 ), located in Nanjing near the Treasure Shipyard where the ocean-going ships were built. The shipbuilders could build 24 models of ships of varying sizes. Several types of ships were built for the voyages, including Shachuan (沙船), Fuchuan (福船) and Baochuan ( treasure ship ) (宝船). Zheng He's treasure ships were regarded as Shachuan types, mainly because they were made in

6864-492: The network). On 3 October 2022 the first steel was cut for the first vessel, named MV Isle of Islay , at Cemre Shipyard , Turkey . On the week of 13 January 2023 the first vessels' keel was laid and the second vessels' first steel was cut. Voting for the names of the two vessels was launched on 24 April 2023, where the public was asked to pick two names, with the following options: The names MV  Isle of Islay and MV  Loch Indaal were selected. On 24 May 2023

6968-461: The oldest ships yet unearthed are known as the Abydos boats . These are a group of 14 ships discovered in Abydos that were constructed of wooden planks which were "sewn" together. Discovered by Egyptologist David O'Connor of New York University , woven straps were found to have been used to lash the planks together, and reeds or grass stuffed between the planks helped to seal the seams. Because

7072-407: The other to Tarbert, giving more resilience to the fleet and the Outer Hebrides . The two vessels,will be of the same design as MV  Isle of Islay and MV  Loch Indaal . All four of these vessels will be built at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey . CMAL confirmed on 19 May 2023 that the first steel for the first vessel will be cut on 24 May 2023. On 20 September 2023, the keel was laid for

7176-484: The outlook for the Ferguson shipyard". In August 2005 Fergusons laid off 100 members of staff, and this was discussed by Finnie at a cabinet meeting. The minutes of the meeting record that "It was difficult to explain to Scottish taxpayers why public funds were being used to buy a vessel from Poland and make redundancy payments to shipbuilders in Port Glasgow." Between 2013 and 2016 the yard built three hybrid diesel-electric/battery powered ferries, beginning with Hallaig -

7280-411: The pipeline. Cutting first steel on the Inverlusa order began in early 2019, but by July 2019 the ferry dispute had led to delays in closing the trawler contracts. Attempts by Clyde Blowers Capital to negotiate with the Scottish Government over increased costs and delays to ferries failed, and on 9 August 2019 the directors of FMEL gave notice that the company would be put into administration. This led to

7384-419: The planking has defined the hull shape. Carvel construction then took over in the Mediterranean. Northern Europe used clinker construction , but with some flush-planked ship-building in, for instance, the bottom planking of cogs . The north-European and Mediterranean traditions merged in the late 15th century, with carvel construction being adopted in the North and the centre-line mounted rudder replacing

7488-492: The quarter rudder of the Mediterranean. These changes broadly coincided with improvements in sailing rigs, with the three masted ship becoming common, with square sails on the fore and main masts, and a fore and aft sail on the mizzen. Ship-building then saw a steady improvement in design techniques and introduction of new materials. Iron was used for more than fastenings ( nails and bolts ) as structural components such as iron knees were introduced, with examples existing in

7592-416: The resilient and salt-resistant pandanus leaves. These sails allowed Austronesians to embark on long-distance voyaging. The ancient Champa of Vietnam also uniquely developed basket-hulled boats whose hulls were composed of woven and resin - caulked bamboo, either entirely or in conjunction with plank strakes . They range from small coracles (the o thúng ) to large ocean-going trading ships like

7696-469: The services after winning the tendering process and holds the Public Services Contract (PSC) until 30 September 2013. Under the terms of the tender CFL is bound to use the vessels of CMAL. CMAL's responsibilities include: CMAL currently owns 37 ferries, of which 32 are operated by Calmac Ferries on routes to the islands and peninsulas of the west of Scotland. In April 2018 it was agreed that

7800-450: The shipbuilder learned the techniques of shipbuilding from his family and is very likely to earn a higher status in the shipyard. Additionally, the shipbuilder had access to business networking that could help to find clients. If a shipbuilder entered the occupation through an apprenticeship, the shipbuilder was likely a farmer before he was hired as a shipbuilder, or he was previously an experienced shipbuilder. Many shipbuilders working in

7904-456: The ships are all buried together and near a mortuary belonging to Pharaoh Khasekhemwy , originally they were all thought to have belonged to him, but one of the 14 ships dates to 3000 BC, and the associated pottery jars buried with the vessels also suggest earlier dating. The ship dating to 3000 BC was about 75 feet (23 m) long and is now thought to perhaps have belonged to an earlier pharaoh. According to professor O'Connor,

8008-429: The ships built were financed by consortia of investors. These considerations led to the documentation of design and construction practices in what had previously been a secretive trade run by master shipwrights and ultimately led to the field of naval architecture , in which professional designers and draftsmen played an increasingly important role. Even so, construction techniques changed only very gradually. The ships of

8112-422: The shipyard were forced into the occupation. The ships built for Zheng He's voyages needed to be waterproof, solid, safe, and have ample room to carry large amounts of trading goods. Therefore, due to the highly commercialized society that was being encouraged by the expeditions, trades, and government policies, the shipbuilders needed to acquire the skills to build ships that fulfil these requirements. Shipbuilding

8216-433: The shipyards, the marine equipment manufacturers, and many related service and knowledge providers) grew as an important and strategic industry in a number of countries around the world. This importance stems from: Historically, the industry has suffered from the absence of global rules and a tendency towards ( state - supported ) over-investment due to the fact that shipyards offer a wide range of technologies, employ

8320-649: The site of Portus in Rome revealed inscriptions in a shipyard constructed during the reign of Trajan (98–117) that indicated the existence of a shipbuilders guild . Roughly at this time is the last migration wave of the Austronesian expansion , when the Polynesian islands spread over vast distances across the Pacific Ocean were being colonized by the (Austronesian) Polynesians from Island Melanesia using double-hulled voyaging catamarans . At its furthest extent, there

8424-464: The start of December, after three private bids to purchase the yard were rejected as being insufficiently favourable to creditors, the government formally took ownership of the shipyard, and in the process wrote off about £50 million of previous loans. The commercial transaction nationalising the shipyard was completed on 2 December 2019, making it a new business named Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd. . The costs and viability of completing contracts

8528-478: The stronger flushed deck design derived from Indian designs, and the increasing use of iron reinforcement. The flushed deck originated from the Bengal rice ships, with Bengal being famous for its shipbuilding industry at the time. Iron was gradually adopted in ship construction, initially to provide stronger joints in a wooden hull e.g. as deck knees, hanging knees, knee riders and the other sharp joints, ones in which

8632-557: The summer of 2013. A second hybrid ferry, MV  Lochinvar , was launched in May 2013 and initially operated on the Tarbert (Loch Fyne) - Portavadie route, currently operating on the Lochaline - Fishnish route. A third, to be named MV  Catriona , was launched in spring 2016 and operates on the Claonaig - Lochranza route, additionally to Tarbert (Loch Fyne) and Portavadie in

8736-516: The technical and commercial possibilities of using hydrogen fuel cells to enable the development of zero-emission ferries. Along with Orkney Islands Council , Ballard Power Systems , Kongsberg Maritime and others, CMAL are part of the HySeas III consortium hoping to demonstrate that fuel cells can be integrated with a marine hybrid electric drive system. The project hopes to develop a vessel to operate between Kirkwall and Shapinsay . The project

8840-532: The then Scottish Executive to maintain lifeline service levels. To comply with European guidelines on State Aids in Maritime Transport, an open public tender was deemed necessary in respect of these ferry services and the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) was tendered as a single bundle, with the exception of the Gourock-Dunoon service. In recognition of the uniqueness of the fleet and to ensure

8944-512: The three passenger-only fleet serving Dunoon and Kilcreggan. This project also includes the redevelopment of all three terminals and related infrastructure. This project is currently at the design phase, with construction due to begin in 2025/26. A new vessel will be constructed to replace MV  Lord of the Isles on the Mallaig- Lochboisdale ( South Uist ) service. This also includes

9048-549: The treasure shipyard in Nanjing. Shachuan , or 'sand-ships', are ships used primarily for inland transport. However, in recent years, some researchers agree that the treasure ships were more of the Fuchuan type. It is said in vol. 176 of San Guo Bei Meng Hui Bian (三朝北盟汇编) that ships made in Fujian are the best ones. Therefore, the best shipbuilders and laborers were brought from these places to support Zheng He's expedition. The shipyard

9152-603: The waterline, the introduction of copper sheathing as a deterrent to shipworm and fouling, etc. In the early decades of the Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1825) western ship design remained largely based on its traditional pre-industrial designs and materials and yet greatly improved in safety as "the risk of being wrecked for Atlantic shipping fell by one-third, and of foundering by two thirds, reflecting improvements in seaworthiness and navigation respectively." The improvement in seaworthiness has been credited to adopting

9256-450: The winter. CMAL completed the redevelopment of Brodick ferry terminal. The redevelopment included an entirely new pier with linkspan and airbridge, a second berth with concrete ramp, a new two-storey terminal building with bus station and car marshalling space. The old linkspan was removed and the causeway transformed into an outdoor seating area. CMAL was commissioned to carry out a feasibility study for Scottish Enterprise to evaluate

9360-423: The world's first seagoing roll-on/roll-off vehicle and passenger diesel–electric hybrid ferry was launched by CMAL on the Clyde. MV  Hallaig incorporates a low-carbon hybrid system of diesel electric and lithium-ion battery power. The 135-tonne ferry is nearly 150 feet long and can accommodate 150 passengers, 23 cars or two heavy-goods vehicles. She began service between Sconser on Skye and Raasay in

9464-650: The world's first. In August 2014, the shipyard placed the company into administration and the following month Clyde Blowers Capital , an industrial company owned by Jim McColl , purchased the yard for £600,000 and renamed it Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL). In August 2015, government-owned Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) announced that an order for two ferries for Caledonian MacBrayne service, capable of operating on either marine diesel oil or liquefied natural gas , had been won by Fergusons . Originally intended for delivery during 2018, construction difficulties (the reasons for which are in dispute) led to

9568-620: Was acquired by Kvaerner and became Kvaerner Kincaid in 1990, and the Ferguson yard sold to Ferguson Marine plc in 1991. The entire shareholding in Ferguson Marine was acquired by the Holland House Electrical Group in 1995. The sign above the main gate continued the name Ferguson Shipbuilders Limited. After they encountered difficulty in maintaining a flow of work, a Scottish Executive cabinet meeting on 1 June 2005 discussed news that orders for fishery protection vessels and

9672-466: Was completed in June 2022. In September 2015, it was announced that CMAL would order two ferries from Ferguson Marine Engineering (FMEL). The vessels will be able to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and marine diesel, future-proofing them for tighter sulphur emissions regulations. They will be the largest commercial vessels to be built on the Clyde since 2001. The first, named MV  Glen Sannox ,

9776-420: Was due to enter service at Ardrossan in 2018, with the second, named MV  Glen Rosa , following a few months later. Both vessels have been delayed, with the shipyard going into administration in August 2019. The ' ferry fiasco ' is an ongoing political scandal in Scotland, exposing management failures across all parties involved. MV  Glen Sannox was handed over to CalMac on 21 November 2024, and

9880-540: Was handed over to CalMac on 21 November 2024. She is now undergoing crew familiarisation and harbour berthing trials, and is due to enter service on the Troon-Brodick route in early 2025. MV  Raasay and MV  Eigg ceased operation with Caledonian MacBrayne in early 2018, and are now no longer part of the fleet. MV  Hebridean Isles was withdrawn from service in November 2024, and spare parts which could be used for maintaining other vessels are currently being removed for storage. She will later be taken to

9984-459: Was investigated, and on 22 January 2020 turnaround director Tim Hair told a Scottish Parliament inquiry that the large ferries MV  Glen Sannox and Hull 802 were "significantly less than half built", with 95% of their design still to be agreed with the client body Caledonian Maritime Assets . Additional naval architects and marine engineers had been engaged to complete this design work. The vessels for Inverlussa Marine Services were built in

10088-562: Was launched on 24 June 2020, to be taken to the Caspian Sea to be completed and outfitted for oil exploration work in that area. The company's board of directors with six non–executive members, including Alistair Mackenzie as chairman, was appointed in June 2020 by the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop . In February 2021, the firm announced it would take on 120 additional workers with

10192-525: Was much more accomplished than had been thought and has described the distribution of clinker vs. carvel construction in Western Europe (see map [1] ). An insight into shipbuilding in the North Sea/Baltic areas of the early medieval period was found at Sutton Hoo , England, where a ship was buried with a chieftain. The ship was 26 metres (85 ft) long and 4.3 metres (14 ft) wide. Upward from

10296-451: Was not included on the shortlist to submit detailed tenders. On 16 December David Tydeman was appointed chief executive, to take over from Tim Hair in February 2022. On 16 March 2023, Tydeman wrote to Scottish Ministers requesting a reset of the timetable for delivery of the two ferries to no later than end 2023 for Glen Sannox (Hull 801) and no later than end 2024 for Hull 802. The shipyard

10400-539: Was not the sole industry utilising Chinese lumber at that time; the new capital was being built in Beijing from approximately 1407 onwards, which required huge amounts of high-quality wood. These two ambitious projects commissioned by Emperor Yongle would have had enormous environmental and economic effects, even if the ships were half the dimensions given in the History of Ming . Considerable pressure would also have been placed on

10504-530: Was the case previously or indeed CMAL being absorbed into the function of Transport Scotland . A Scottish Parliament committee was critical of CMAL and ultimately has considered the proposals outlined in Project Neptune, recommending CMAL be abolished and a new public division of Transport Scotland established called Ferries Scotland. There have been numerous calls such as that from Kenny MacLeod, Chairman of Harris Development Trust, to scrap CMAL and reintegrate

10608-444: Was the first radical new design, being built entirely of wrought iron. Despite her success, and the great savings in cost and space provided by the iron hull, compared to a copper-sheathed counterpart, there remained problems with fouling due to the adherence of weeds and barnacles. As a result, composite construction remained the dominant approach where fast ships were required, with wooden timbers laid over an iron frame ( Cutty Sark

10712-426: Was under the command of Ministry of Public Works . The shipbuilders had no control over their lives. The builders, commoner's doctors, cooks and errands had lowest social status. The shipbuilders were forced to move away from their hometown to the shipyards. There were two major ways to enter the shipbuilder occupation: family tradition, or apprenticeship. If a shipbuilder entered the occupation due to family tradition,

10816-414: Was unknown when the Chinese people started adopting Southeast Asian (Austronesian) shipbuilding techniques. They may have been started as early as the 8th century, but the development was gradual and the true ocean-going Chinese junks did not appear suddenly. The word "po" survived in Chinese long after, referring to the large ocean-going junks. In September 2011, archeological investigations done at

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