Portavadie

As well as SCOT PIONEER, the Norwegian live fish carrier RONJA VIKING was alongside, loading salmon smolts for transport to fish farms around the west coast. Joining them periodically was the CalMac ferry ISLE OF CUMBRAE on the twenty minute crossing from Tarbert. Portavadie was originally developed in the 1970s as a construction site to built oil platforms for the North Sea, but despite a large basin having been excavated for the purpose, no orders were ever received. The site lay neglected for many years but has now been developed as a marina, while the original berth is used for timber exports and by local aquaculture companies.