July Newsletter – Meet the Team
Meet the Team
Morven Bridges, Head of Engineering
Five months ago, I swapped timber lorries for ferries and joined CMAL as Head of Engineering. With 14 years of experience engineering in roles at Forestry and Land Scotland, I now lead CMAL’s ambitious programme of harbour development projects and maintenance of the existing infrastructure. Although I’ve been in post a relatively short time, I’ve enjoyed sharpening my skills to place longevity at the forefront of our engineering planning and delivery. For every project we undertake, we carefully consider the lifecycle of each structure, looking at how it will function years down the line, not just in the immediate future.
I’ve always had a strong affinity with Scotland’s freezing waters as a keen open water swimmer. Prior to joining CMAL, I swam between several locations – Gallanach to Kerrera and Fishnish to Lochaline – all CMAL owned ports. Armed with more knowledge of the ports, I’m looking at the possibility of a slightly longer crossing in the future…while obviously keeping clear of the ferries!
Day in the life: Heading up a 10-strong team, I work across all CMAL’s harbour engineering projects. Working with consultants and partners across Scotland, I oversee, control and manage the development and implementation of maintenance, upgrade and construction works for port infrastructure. With projects across so many locations, there is great diversity in my role. My team and I work on projects of all sizes, from replacing the pier at Tarbert Ferry Terminal and installing a new linkspan at Gourock Ferry Terminal, to smaller general harbour maintenance programmes. In the next few months, we’ll be working on several strands of work, including port enabling works for the new Islay vessel.
Onboarding during the pandemic has had its challenges, especially in such a complex field, but my team have gone above and beyond to make me feel welcome and I look forward to supporting them in their work in the coming months and years.
Lewis Hammell, Assistant Technical Superintendent
Living locally as a self-proclaimed ferry fanatic, CMAL is the perfect employer for me. I started my career here almost five years ago. After completing an MEng degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, I joined CMAL as a Graduate Naval Architect and have never looked back.
Since then, I’ve progressed to Assistant Technical Superintendent and I am part of a five-strong vessels team which works to maintain, upgrade and renew our fleet. We cover everything from managing the design and build of new ships to existing vessel inspections – no two days are ever the same. I’ve always had a keen interest in ferries, but never thought I’d be as closely connected as I am now. My wife’s family are from the Isle of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides and I regularly use the ferry service, so I have a personal understanding of just how important our work is for islanders.
Day in the life: Since the beginning of my career, I’ve enjoyed the scale and variety that comes with preserving lifeline services. From the outset, I have been involved in high-profile projects, being thrust into a shipbuilding project straight away. In my first few years, I worked on MV Glen Sannox, the first of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) ferries, and recently, I’ve enjoyed working as project coordinator for the new vessel which will serve the Islay and Jura communities. As vessel project coordinator, I liaise with, and digest information from a variety of stakeholders and partners, including CalMac, Transport Scotland and our design consultants, ultimately translating these into the vessel concept design. I hope to see this vessel from concept design through to vessel delivery. This year, I’ll also get the opportunity to work on and manage the Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP), a major programme to replace up to seven small ‘loch class’ vessels serving the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) network.