mv Rover

Clyde Marine was in the ship/shore business operating motor launches from Princes Pier, Greenock, for 51 years before the new Rover was completed in 1964. Built by Hugh Maclean & Sons at Renfrew, the Rover was specially designed for tendering services to serve principally the shipbuilders’ parties for new ships on trials.

She was the tenth and last boat built by that yard for Clyde Marine and the first in steel, with a length of 65 ft., beam 16 ft. and driven by twin Kelvin diesels to give a service speed of 10.45 kts. With a Class V Passenger Certificate for 120 persons and gangway deck able to reach any of the Clyde Coast piers she was well equipped for her intended service and became an instant success, marred only by the unforeseen change in the pattern of trade.

The first 25 years of life for the Rover witnessed the steady reduction of Clyde shipbuilders’ trials attendance work for new ships decline from over 50 per annum to just four, so that alternative work had to be continually sourced to keep her gainfully employed.

The Rover proved an excellent tender for the cruise liners Kungsholm at Helensburgh and Brodick, for Uganda off Greenock, and servicing the massive increased size of ships at the lower Anchorages occasioned by new terminals at Finnart and Hunterston.

Many charters were also obtained including cruises to Clyde Coast destinations from Kilcreggan and Dunoon, while relief sailings were made for CalMac to Dunoon and Millport as occasion required.

On 28 January 1974, Rover featured in the news when called out at 0530 in the teeth of a South-westerly gale to rescue the 25 crew of the Greek sugar ship Captayannis at the Tail of the Bank.

This ship was holed and listing badly; Rover got alongside and picked off the crew who were landed safely at the Customhouse Quay to be cared for at the Inverclyde Centre. During the 1980s Rover was heavily engaged at the Tail of the Bank with completion and testing of the two semi-submersible rigs from Scott-Lithgow, following which these yards closed down, and in the 90s and first decade of the present century spent much time based at Largs or Campbeltown servicing the trials of new frigates and Offshore Patrol Vessels.

For twelve weeks in the summer of 1990 the Rover was based at Inveraray for short cruises mainly up Lochfyne to view Dunderave Castle, the Fish Farm cages and Ardkinglas House on the east side of the loch but those were not repeated in subsequent years.

In the first decade of this present century Rover ventured further afield, being engaged in tendering at Ayr on two occasions for visiting Norwegian Cruise Liners, and once at Girvan for tendering to the Russian cruiser Severomorsk. Her furthest north and west port of call has been Portree.