of Shuna. These had bow and stern ramps, allowing roll-on/roll-off operation. Traffic developed rapidly and in August 1974, the former Isle of Wight ferry, joined the service as Sound of Sanda. This crossing was much shorter than the parallel Caledonian MacBrayne Public Service route. Although CalMac's vessels were considerably faster, their longer route meant that both operators took around 20 minutes to make the crossing. The simpler ro-ro service was regular, frequent and ran from 7 am until 10 pm. Their rates matched the recently reduced rates of CalMac. Traffic kept both services very active. In 1985, after the Clyde service was transferred to Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd, new tonnage was sought and appeared in the spring of 1986 when the company bought another former Sealink ferry, the Freshwater. She entered service as Sound of Seil in 1986. A further vessel, the Sound of Sleat, a former Dutch river ferry (ex de Hoorn) was added two years later. Two further ferries were purchased from Dutch owners, in 1995 and 1996. Both Sound of Scalpay and the second Sound of Sanda replaced older vessels. In 2001, Ferguson Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow delivered the second Sound of Scarba, the company's first new ferry for the service. The old vessel was sold after a few years of mooring in the Holy Loch. A new Sound of Shuna followed in October 2003. Between late 2006 and September 2007 facilities at both ports were restructured. The car marshalling areas were enlarging and a second linkspan was installed at both Hunters Quay and McInroys Point. All four ferries operate during peak periods, providing a 15-minute service. At other times, three crossings per hour are provided whilst evenings and quieter times see a vessel depart every 30 minutes. In 2013 two brand new vessels were commissioned by Western. These were built by the Cammell Laird Shipyard in Merseyside. Entering the fleet in October of that year as Sound of Soay and Sound of Seil this brought the fleet size to six however this dropped to four on disposal of the two oldest vessels (Scalpay and Sanda). The company employs 57 staff including six directors of whom 50 live in the Dunoon area. Arran Service In early January 2010, the company announced that it was to commence a high frequency, low fare route between Ardrossan and Brodick in direct competition to publicly owned Caledonian MacBrayne. They stated that