The building of the new £42 million Stornoway ferry has started.
The first steel is being cut at Flensburger shipyard in Germany today. An official ceremony is being held to mark the milestone.
Fabrication of the various sections will then begin. After the keel is laid in the coming weeks the pre-fabricated sections will be welded together and ship will start to take shape.
The hull of the MV Loch Seaforth is due to be launched in February. She is expected to be in service between Stornoway and Ullapool by summer 2014.
The new 116 metre Roll On Roll Off vehicle passenger ferry will be capable of operating 24 hours a day and will have a capacity for up to 700 passengers, and 143 cars or 20 commercial vehicles.
The new boat should go 10% faster than the MV Isle of Lewis.
She will be owned by the Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) which will lease it to Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL). In turn, CMAL will charter her to the operator of the route.
CMAL is the Scottish Government company which owns the ships providing ferry services to the Western Isles. Under European rules the vessels are charted to a the best operator which successfully bids to run the service.
►Three back-up engines for new ferry in case of breakdowns
