Widely reported to be one of the most environmentally friendly ferries of its kind in Scotland, the vessel is an 85m x 22m catamaran with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure. It will operate between Gills Bay on the Scottish mainland to St. Margaret’s Hope on the Orkney Islands with its low fuel consumption makes it the greenest way to travel to Orkney.

John Bonafoux, Business Development Director of Specialised Ship Design at BMT, said, “I am pleased to announce the delivery of our new 85-meter catamaran Ro-Pax ferry that was ordered by Pentland Ferries and, I would like to welcome them to the large and growing family of BMT-designed vessels. This new design adds further depth to our diversified fleet portfolio where we are currently receiving strong interest from clients around the world due to the high efficiency of these purpose-built vessel design-solutions.”

Designed by Southampton-based BMT, construction began in mid-2017 at Strategic Marine’s Vung Tau facility in Vietnam. Launched in January 2019, with sea trials over the summer, the vessel has now completed the long voyage from Vietnam and arrived at her home port in the Orkney Islands earlier this week.

MV Alfred will operate in the rough waters of the Pentland Firth, between Gills Bay on the Scottish mainland and St Margaret’s Hope, Orkney, with a transit time of around one hour. Entry into service is planned for later this year and, the vessel will significantly expand the operator’s capacity on the route, carrying up to 430 passengers and 98 cars, or 12 lorries with 54 cars.

Powered by four Yanmar 6EY17W engines and quad-screw propulsion, the low-emissions vessel is quiet and efficient, achieving a service speed of 16 knots. With a hull form specifically designed for the area of operation, the new vessel ensures a comfortable transit for those onboard, and maximum operability for the vessel’s owners.