Port of Troon welcomes the maiden call of the luxury cruise ship, MS Island Sky

The maiden call of Noble Caledonia’s flagship vessel, the MS Island Sky (CruiseMapper) has been welcomed at Associated British Ports (‘ABP’)’s Port of Troon.

The Port of Troon is arguably one of the group’s most picturesque ports and home of the TimberLINK service. This Italian-built ship has made maiden calls at three other ABP ports recently, Lowestoft, Ipswich, and Hull, and there has been positive feedback from Noble Caledonia throughout.

Tuesday 5th October 2021 was the first time the Island Sky has carried out a turnaround cruise call to the Port of Troon, which is more widely known for supporting the fishing and agricultural industries as well as its operation of TimberLINK; a service on behalf of Scottish Forestry that has saved approximately 1 million lorry miles from Scotland’s touristic roads and has reduced carbon emissions by more than 1,200 tonnes, every year, since 2000.

Next year, the Port of Troon will welcome another luxury cruise ship from Hebridean Island Cruises, called MV Hebridean Princess. The MV Hebridean Princess has used the facility at Troon two to three times per year for the last four years which have all been successful.

Andrew Harston, ABP’s Regional Director said:

“We are delighted to welcome the arrival of luxury cruise vessels to our Port of Troon, gladly supporting the cruise companies that offer this unique way to enjoy the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.”

Mike Deegan, Head of Fleet Operations for Noble Caledonia said:

“The call took months of detailed planning involving port management, led by Stuart Cresswell. He and his team could not have been more helpful in planning the call and everything was made easy for us. Every single member of the Troon team that I met were professional, friendly, welcoming and came to work with a real “can do” attitude”

Stuart Cresswell has been ABP’s port manager of Ayr, Troon, and Silloth for over 13 years and is also Chairman of the British Ports Association, Scottish Ports Group.

With its RoRo berth, good all-weather accessibility and convenient transport links, the Port of Troon can offer resilient services to a wide range of destinations in Scotland and beyond.