The Mull Island Ferry, Argyll & Bute, Scotland.
Posted by: 
greysman
N 56° 24.740 W 005° 28.563
30V E 347240 N 6254723
The MV Isle of Mull, An t-Eilean Muileach, is the ferry plying between Oban on the Scottish mainland and Craignure on the Island of Mull.
Waymark Code: WMJ2K9
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/12/2013
Views: 7
The Oban Ferry Terminal, Ionad Aiseig' an Òbain, is operated by Caledonian MacBrayne and is the main terminal for the central section of the Hebrides. Ferries sail from here to Craignure on Mull, Lismore, Arinagour on Coll, Scarinish on Tiree, Scalasaig on Colonsay, Castlebay on Barra, and Lochboisdale on South Uist. The terminal is fully attended and has the ticket office on the ground floor. The foot passenger waiting lounge is on the first floor, accessible by stairs or lift and will seat 150. At popular sailing times it gets very crowded. Access to the ferry is by the overhead covered ramp directly into the passenger area.
There are full toilet facilities, a vending machine and public telephone. The nearest railway station is 100m away which is also the bus stop for all services and the taxis. Food is available nearby and all along the Esplanade, less than 1km from the terminal.
Vehicles need to drive south from Oban town centre and cross the railway on the old girder bridge to approach the port from the south. They then drive onto the ferry at the stern ramp.
The Craignure terminal on Mull is on the north-east coast facing the Sound of Mull. It is 150m long and the ferry berths onto the north-west side where the vehicles disembark through the bow ramp and raised bow visor. Foot passengers disembark from the passenger area through a covered walkway and ramp to the pier. At the end of the pier is the bus and coach stop for onward journeys, both Tobermory and Fionnphort, for Iona, are served by coaches which meet the ferries. There is an information point with souvenir shop and CalMac ticket office, a Spar shop with Post Office, 50m north, toilets, and several eateries along this section of Craignure. The small building at the end of the pier sports a large clock on its roof apex. Departing vehicles queue adjacent to the road and foot passengers wait undercover on the pier. Other vessels can tie up alongside the pier and use the facilities on offer.
The ferry operating this route is the MV Isle of Mull, An t-Eilean Mulbeach, which sails a daily service taking about 40mins. For the timetable visit:- Oban to Mull
The MV Isle of Mull was built in 1987 and entered service on the 11 April 1988, replacing the older and slower MV Caledonia. Originally 84.9m long she was taken out of service in the late autumn of 1988 and sent to Tees Dockyard Ltd in Middlesbrough to be lengthened by 5.4m which resulted in greater vehicle carrying capacity, around 80 cars, better handling and a slight increase in speed.
An internal refurbishment followed in the 1990s and a further major refurbishment in 2005 in which the cafeteria was redesigned with a new service area layout, including self-service tea and coffee machines and was renamed the Mariners Cafeteria. A coffee bar was installed in the viewing lounge at the after end of the ship opposite the doors leading out to the open deck, the Coffee Cabin, and the bar renamed The Still.
Her tonnage is 4,719, length 90.3m, beam 15.8m, and draft 3.19m. Powered by a Mirlees Blackstone 8MB275T Diesel she has a speed of 15knots (28km/h, 17mph) in service, carries 962 passengers and 70 cars with a crew of 28 and makes the run to Craignure from Oban in around 40mins. Due to the large outside viewing areas she is very popular with both tourists and locals alike. She also operates the Oban to Colonsay route during the winter timetable.
The co-ordinates given are for the Oban terminal building. The Craignure terminal is at is at N°56 28.256 W°005 42.403.