The crew of a new CalMac ferry on its way to Scotland took part in a dramatic rescue at stormy seas.

MV Isle of Islay is on her way from Turkey, where it was built, but was forced to berth at Gibraltar amid worsening weather conditions in southern Europe.

However, the vessel had to take to the sea as conditions became too dangerous to remain alongside, with a crew member spotting the man in the water off the Moroccan coast.

Within minutes, a fast rescue draft was deployed to recover him and bring him onboard.

Having been looked after by the Scottish ferry crew over a number of days, he has now been handed over to authorities of Morocco.

Louis de Wolff, CalMac’s fleet management director, said: ‘CalMac crews are well-trained in acting fast to take part in rescues at sea, often supporting the coastguard in Scottish waters.

‘None of us expected MV Isle of Islay to be involved in a rescue so soon after being delivered, but it is testament to the professionalism of our crew that the individual was saved from dangerous sea and weather conditions in just a few minutes.’

Windspeeds in the storm-hit area were consistently higher than 30 knots, gusting at over 50 knots last week.

MV Isle of Islay is now at Almeria port in Spain and expected to continue her journey over to the norther part of the country later this week with a break in the conditions.

She’ll head across the Bay of Biscay to reach UK waters when a suitable weather window allows to be done so safely.

Mr de Wolff added: ‘We’re bringing the vessel home in winter, when sea and weather conditions in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic, where we’ll be headed next, are at their most treacherous.

‘This has been compounded by a series of storms hitting the Iberian peninsula over the last two weeks.

‘The crew continue to do a first-class job in bringing her closer to Scotland and we will confirm arrival details nearer the time.’

MV Isle of Islay was officially handed over to CMAL by her Turkish builders in Yalova.

She is the first of four ferries being constructed at the yard and will serve Islay and Jura with a capacity of 450 passengers and 100 cars – or 14 commercial vehicles – when she enters service.