In a somewhat bizarre move, passenger vessel building could return to the UK’s River Clyde with the announcement of a plan for a £1.2 bill residential vessel, due to launch in 2028.
A company called Clydebuilt, which is marketing suites costing up to £41 mill on a ship to be named ‘Dark Island’, aims to create 3,000 jobs in the Glasgow area.
A website promoting the scheme was launched in November last year.
After nine years working on the project, Managing Director, Tommy McGinn said the all-balcony ship is “production ready”.
He is in talks with three yards, with “one in particular quite keen,” the UK’s media outlet Telegraph said following an interview.
“Unemployment on the west coast of Scotland is so horrendous that something’s got to be done. I think shipbuilding is the way to go – but with new technology and modern designs,” he reportedly said.
Investors are already on board, he claimed but, before confirming the order, McGinn wants to sell 60% of the 236 suites to ultra-wealthy individuals and major corporations.
The smallest accommodation, Glencoe, starts at £4.2 mill for the expected 50-year life of the ship, plus a £1,150 per night service charge.
At the top end of the scale, the £41 mill Hebridean suite will cost £3,182 per night, based on four people sharing.
The 748 ft long ‘Dark Island’ – a name claimed to evoke the beauty of the Outer Hebrides – will be fitted with three restaurants and a 10-storey atrium, plus a theatre, spa, gym, library and pool.
Her maiden voyage for up to 724 passengers has been planned as a three-year world cruise, following the routes of explorers, including Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Francis Drake and James Cook.
Of the many residential ships in service or planned, only two have reached fruition – the purpose-built ‘The World’, and the ‘Villa Vie Odyssey’ ex Fred.Olsen’s ‘Braemar’, which sailed from Belfast on an inaugural three-and-a-half-year world cruise after overcoming regulatory problems.
McGinn told The Telegraph: “You always get cynics but I’ve never asked someone to do what I’m not willing to do myself.
“We’ve taken the risk and ploughed our own money into it. We’ll have a big push now to sell the suites. We need as much assistance as possible to get this built on the Clyde.”
As to whether he would approach the Scottish Government for financial aid, he said: “No, it’s got to be self-financed, not depending on subsidies, not depending on handouts. That’s the way we’re trying to go with this.”
McGinn and his five-strong management team have already been approached by up to 30 suppliers, as well as potential workers and crew, including Masters, although he said: “We’re not promising jobs to anybody until we’re ready.”
He also said: “I spoke to someone high up in Carnival Corp about six years ago who said there was no way they would consider getting any other vessels built in Scotland. So why not do it ourselves?”
Computer-generated renderings of the vessel have been produced in collaboration with London-based superyacht designer, Evan Marshall.
“The goal was to create a spectacular cruise ship harking back to the elegance of a bygone era,” Marshall said.
“’Dark Island’s’ exterior is sleek and elegant, which is a departure from the current styling trend of most cruise ships.”
Inside, designers and artists will “integrate the essence of the Highland glens” throughout the decor, McGinn added.
Some 540 crew members will run the ship. Itineraries will be decided in advance by a vote among suite owners, with the Master having the final say.
‘Queen Mary 2’ designer and naval architect, Stephen Payne, questioned some of her initial designs, warning that high lifeboats, balconies close to the waterline and restricted views from the bridge, all signal warning bells that will need special consideration, the Telegraph reported.
Some 20 years ago, when the ‘Queen Mary 2’ was built in a French shipyard, Belfast’s Harland & Wolff was asked why it didn’t tender for the job.
The reply was that the company had lost its expertise in passenger shipbuilding, such as the naval architects needed to produce the drawings, so decided to concentrate on the ship repair and conversion market.
We have also seen the furore surrounding the building of Calmac’s LNG powered Scottish ferries at Ferguson on the Clyde, which are umpteen years late and vastly over budget.
