MV Clansman () is a ferry owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited and operated by Caledonian MacBrayne, operating from Oban on the west coast of Scotland. History The present MV Clansman is the fifth vessel to carry the name in the CalMac fleet over the years. The most recent predecessor was the 1964 built hoist loading ferry. Launched on 27 March 1998 at Appledore Shipbuilders in North Devon, she entered service four months later. As the third-largest vessel in the fleet, she brought new levels of capacity and passenger comfort to the routes. The main complaint passengers had was Clansman's lack of open deckspace. The design of the ship was such that exterior areas for passengers came at a premium. Calmac remedied this problem by adding an extension above the area aft of the bar during her annual overhaul in 2003. Clansman has an almost identical sister ship, , built in 2000 to a similar specification. Layout A cafeteria is situated at the bow, with an observation lounge directly above. Aft are a series of lounges, along with the shop and bar. Above is crew accommodation and a relatively small amount of open deck space. She lacks a forward deck. The car deck has room for approximately 90 cars and has a mezzanine deck on the starboard side, which can be raised or lowered to allow loading of up to 10 additional cars. The upper deck was extended aft to allow for more open deck space and some deck space sheltered from the elements. The ship has a Fast Rescue Craft, with liferafts situated behind the bridge. During her 2018 overhaul, the lifeboats located abreast of the funnel were removed, with new liferafts being installed in their place. One of the old lifeboats was sold to Arctic explorers who are planning on sailing it to Tromso, Norway. Service Designed specifically for the Oban – Castlebay / Lochboisdale and Oban – Coll / Tiree services, Clansman replaced . At in length, she is the largest vessel that can safely navigate the numerous channels on her routes. She was, however, too large to call at Tobermory, which was dropped from the Coll/Tiree sailings on her introduction. Each winter since her introduction, Clansman has relieved the larger Calmac units for their annual refit, leaving the route she was built for with Lord of the Isles. She has seen service at Lewis, Uig, Mull