MV Orion (formerly MV Saturn, , and MV Orcadia) is a ro-ro passenger and vehicle ferry. Saturn was operated by Caledonian MacBrayne in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland between 1978 and 2011, for the first decade of her career on the Rothesay crossing. Later, she also saw service on the Dunoon and Brodick crossings, as well as on short cruises around the Clyde.
After a lengthy lay-up, she was sold in 2015 to Pentland Ferries, renamed Orcadia, and converted for ferry services work with the renewable energy sector around Orkney and the Pentland Firth. In 2021 she was sold to Creta Cargo Lines, Greece, renamed Orion, and towed to Perama for conversion to increase freight capacity.
Description and Construction
Saturn was an evolution of the design used for the earlier and . Instead of conventional propellers, all three vessels had two fore-and-aft Voith-Schneider units, which had been successfully used on the fleet's 1972 Skye ferries. This propulsion system made the vessels fast and highly manoeuvrable compared to other vessels of the day, greatly reducing sailing and turnaround times and leading to them being nicknamed “Streakers”.
The vessel incorporates a large open vehicle deck towards the stern, with passenger accommodation and services towards the bow across three decks. The design is of the roll-on/roll-off type, with vehicles boarding using either the stern ramp or one of the ramps amidships that lower to port and starboard respectively. She has two passenger lounges, one with a cafeteria. There is crew accommodation on the upper deck and open-air passenger areas.
Unlike Jupiter and Juno, Saturns bridge was constructed one deck above the upper passenger deck, giving passenger access right around the front of the ship and allowing views directly over the bow. Saturn also did not have the large mast structure fitted above the car deck.
History
CalMac Service
Together with her sister ships, Saturn formed a new generation of car ferries built in the 1970s to serve the routes on the Firth of Clyde. These ships were nicknamed the "Streakers" because of their greater speed (compared to what had served the area's routes previously) and superb manoeuvrability (due to their novel propulsion units).
With "Rothesay Ferry" emblazoned on her hull, Saturn operated primarily on the Wemyss Bay – Rothesay crossing for much of her first decade. From 1986, a new rostering policy saw the three streakers switching between the Rothesay and Dunoon routes. The third vessel provided additional peak sailings on both crossings, served Kilcreggan and, between 1993 and 1999, provided cruises on summer afternoons. Later, there were two vessels at Rothesay for most of the day with the former Western Isles' ship providing additional capacity.
After more than 35 years, the Streakers were replaced by a new generation of CalMac ferries designed for the Upper Firth, just as in the 1970s they had replaced an earlier generation. came into service on the Rothesay route in 2005, followed by in 2007. With Bute'''s introduction, Saturn moved down the firth to Ardrossan, assisting on the Brodick crossing during summer, and acting as a spare vessel during the winter. Major work at Rothesay throughout the winter of 2006/2007 required the vastly superior maneuverability of the 'Streakers' for access to the pier and Saturn with sister ship Juno were in service for the duration of the winter while newer ships Bute and were laid up. This continued until April 2007 when the newer ships could resume service. Sister ship of Bute, entered service the following month which allowed Saturn to return to her summer duties at Arran.
In September 2007 Saturn became the first and only 'streaker' to leave the Firth of Clyde when she carried out berthing trials at Port Ellen, Port Askaig and Kennacraig to test her suitability on the Islay service. Saturn also carried out special cruises from Gourock and Dunoon to mark the return of Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 to the Firth of Clyde upon the liner's 40th anniversary in 2007 and her final visit to the Clyde in 2008.
