NORTH-EAST firm Dales Marine Services has hailed the presence of a catamaran in its dry dock in Aberdeen for the first time as a milestone.
Dales, which offers engineering services to the shipping, oil and gas, chemical, power-generation and civil engineering industries, said yesterday that the Philippine-built ferry Pentalina highlighted the company’s versatility.
The vessel was delivered to new owner Pentland Ferries, of Orkney, last month and arrived in Aberdeen on Saturday for a final fitting out, painting and tests.
Dales director and general manager Michael Milne said: “The work on the Pentalina is another demonstration of the range of vessels we can accommodate and of our ability to turn work around quickly to meet clients’ schedules.”
The 270ft Pentalina can carry nine articulated lorries, more than 30 cars and 250 passengers. She is due to take over the Pentland Ferries’ route between Gill’s Bay on the Scottish mainland, and St Margaret’s Hope on South Ronaldsay, from the MV Claymore later this month.
The new catamaran – originally due for delivery last May in time for summer 2008 sailings – is expected to provide a faster service and greater carrying capacity, reducing the crossing time on the shortest route across the Pentland Firth to around 45 minutes. Her belated arrival in Scotland was due to construction delays at a shipyard at Cebu in the Philippines.
The Claymore itself has previously been dry docked in Aberdeen for work by Dales Marine, as has Pentland Ferries’ Pentalina B.
Dales Marine – founded in Peterhead in 1987 – provides ship repair, dry docking, fabrication and engineering activities in Aberdeen, where it operates around the clock, and elsewhere for a range of industries.