MV Loch Shira (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Loch Siora) is a car ferry operating on the Largs to Cumbrae route on the Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The vessel is operated by Caledonian MacBrayne.
Built by Ferguson Shipbuilders and launched on Friday 8 December 2006, she entered service on Saturday 2 June the following year. The vessel has an absolute capacity of 32 cars and 250 passengers; however CalMac has stated that it is unlikely that more than 24 cars will be carried on the current route, in order to avoid traffic congestion both on the Isle of Cumbrae and at the Largs ferry terminal, where a busy junction is encountered just yards from leaving the boat.
On 2 April 2015 a Lego version of Loch Shira was published on the Lego ideas webpage.[1] Calmac picked up on the Lego idea and issued a press release entitled "Block aid! CalMac ferry could become production Lego model with public support". By September of the following year the idea had not gained enough support and did not go into production.
The ferry is named after the sea loch next to Inveraray at the foot Glen Shira which drains the River Shira into Loch Fyne.
The Loch Shira measures 53.9m (176.8feet) in length and has a beam of 13.9m (45.6feet). She has a single car deck divided into three lanes, with the central lane of sufficient width for two cars or one large commercial vehicle. There is a narrow passenger cabin at car deck level down the starboard side of the ship, with more spacious internal accommodation and open deck seating two storeys above this. The bridge sits atop the upper passenger lounge, and is offset to starboard.
In common with other Calmac "Loch Class" ferries, cars and passengers are loaded via folding ramps at either end of the vessel. These ramps make the only ship-to-shore contact during normal loading and unloading, with no ropes necessary to secure the ship. A Voith-Schneider propulsion system adds to this efficiency, giving the vessel excellent manoeuvrability.
Since her entry into service, Loch Shira has only operated on the service between Largs and Cumbrae. Upon entry into service, she replaced, allowing the latter to move to service between Barra and Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides[2] . She operates alongside during the summer, and has been relieved by a number of vessels during her winter overhaul, including and .
In 2024, at a time when flood protection work in Millport meant a lot of heavy traffic, the hinges to both ramps on Loch Shira were damaged beyond repair, forcing her withdrawal from service on 5 April. CalMac attributed the problem to unidentified "large commercial vehicles" exceeding the ramp design loading, and replacement parts had to be made in Poland to get regulatory approval. During her absence, a reduced service was provided by various vessels, including Loch Tarbert,,, and .[3] [4] After initially docking at the James Watt Dock in Greenock, the ship was moved to Troon. By 24 May the parts were delivered and work put in hand,[5] followed by "extensive sea and berthing trials across the Clyde area before a planned return to service on Wednesday August 7."[6] By then there had been further problems with other vessel breakdowns, leading to three hour queues for the ferry at Largs.[7] That afternoon, Loch Shira returned to service after four months and two days absence. Loch Tarbert went off for ramp repairs, and Isle of Cumbrae gave short term cover.[8]