Ardrossan to Arran ferry - “Alfred” charter
North Ayrshire

The Pentland Ferries ship “Alfred” currently being used as a stand-in for one of the regular Arran ferries while we all wait interminably for the new ferries to be completed.

This is her backing into the berth at Ardrossan harbour.

Tied up and unloading foot passengers before the cars and lorries follow.

As you can see this ship is a catamaran and is also much larger than the usual ferries on this route.

Cal-Mac chartered her as a stop-gap measure until the rest of their fleet is either repaired or built.

A few minutes earlier she arrived from Arran, slowing down as she passed into the harbour.

And then rotated left to enable the reverse into her berth as in the top photo.

As she left, the black smoke from her exhaust is particularly unpleasant. I'd hate to be on an open deck under that lot. (This photo from ground level.)

If this was a diesel car, lorry or bus it would be banned from the road but it seems that pollution rules don't apply at sea, especially perhaps if the offending vessel is being run at arm's length by the Scottish Government. At considerable cost to the public purse?