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pierhead and a visit from MV ''Caledonian Isles'' and MV ''Isle of Mull''.]] Caledonian MacBrayne (usually shortened to '''Cal-Mac''') is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries between the mainland of Scotland and 23 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast. It is publicly-owned and controlled by the Scottish Executive . HISTORY MacBrayne's, initially known as David Hutcheson & Co., began in 1851 as a private steamship operator when G. and J. Burns, operators of the largest of the Clyde fleets, decided to concentrate on coastal and transatlantic services and handed control of their river and Highland steamers to a new company in which Hutcheson, their manager of these services, became senior partner. Their main route went from Glasgow down the Firth Of Clyde through the Crinan Canal to Oban and Fort William , and on through the Caledonian Canal to Inverness . With the retirement of its founders in the 1870s , their partner (and nephew of Messrs. Burns) David MacBrayne gained full ownership, and changed the company's name accordingly. It remained in the hands of the MacBrayne family until it was Nationalised in 1948 , its ships featuring red funnels with a black top. The Caledonian Railway at first used the services of various early private operators of Clyde Steamer s, then began operating steamers on its own account on 1 January 1889 to compete better with the North British Railway and the Glasgow And South Western Railway . It extended its line to bypass the G & SW ''Prince's Pier'' at Greenock and continue on to the fishing village of Gourock , where they had purchased the harbour. After years of fierce competition between all the fleets, the Caledonian and G & SW were merged in 1923 into the LMS and their fleets amalgamated into the Caledonian Steam Packet Co., their funnels being pained yellow with a black top. At the same time the North British Railway fleet became part of the LNER (which built the ''Waverley'' in 1947). With nationalisation in 1948 the LMS and LNER fleets were amalgamated under British Railways with the name ''Clyde Shipping Services''. In 1957 a reorganisation restored the CSP name, and in 1965 a red lion was added to each side of the black-topped yellow funnels. The headquarters remained at Gourock pierhead. At the end of December 1968 management of the CSP passed to the Scottish Transport Group , which gained control of MacBrayne's the following June. The MacBrayne service from Gourock to Ardrishaig ended on 30 September 1969 , leaving the Clyde entirely to the CSP. On 1 January 1973 the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. acquired most of the ships and routes of MacBrayne's and commenced joint Clyde and West Highland operations under the new name of Caledonian MacBrayne, with a combined headquarters at Gourock. Funnels were now painted red with a black top, and a yellow circle at the side of the funnel featuring the red Caledonian lion. In 1990 the ferry business was spun off as a separate company, keeping the Caledonian MacBrayne brand, and shares were issued in the company. All shares were owned by the state, first in the person of the Secretary Of State For Scotland , and (after Devolution ) by the Scottish Executive. In response to new tendering rules authorised by the European Union, the company's routes are currently out to tender with applications being invited from suitably experienced operators to run all of the company services. The exception is the Gourock to Dunoon service which, whilst also subject to tender, is being handled separately as a result of the specific circumstances which affect ferry services to the Cowal peninsula. The company is looking to move towards a 21st century image in sailing, this is looking like a task which they will achieve, with MV Bute the newest ship of the fleet been joined by an almost identical sister Mv Argyll, which should be complete by Summer 2006, the company is also having a new "super loch" built for the largs/ cubrae route which should be ready by late 2006 early 2007, all of these contributers to the companies goal of 21st century sailing. BUSINESS The company enjoys a de-facto monopoly on the shipment of freight and vehicles to the islands, and competes for passenger traffic with number of aircraft services of varying quality and reliability. Nonetheless, few if any of the routes currently operated by Cal-Mac are profitable, and the company receives significant government subsidies due to its vital role in supplying the islands - these routes are classified as "lifeline" services. In 1996 Cal-Mac opened its first route outwith Scotland, winning a ten year contract to provide a lifeline service to Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland . In reference to MacBrayne's long dominance of Hebridean sailings, this poem is legendary: The Earth belongs unto the Lord And all that it contains Except the Kyles and the Western Isles And they are all MacBrayne's Several groups have proposed privatising the service, and there has been a long commercial and political struggle with the private Western Ferries, which has been running a rival service between to whom to award the contracts; successful bidders will run the services on a similar "lifeline" basis to Cal-Mac, and would receive subsidies from the Executive. Some island and union groups oppose the tendering process, fearing it would lead to cuts in services and could be a prelude to full privatisation. ROUTES ) arrives at Gourock on the Dunoon service, away from her usual Wemyss Bay to Rothesay run.]]
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