She is the seventh Clyde ship to bear the name Bute and Calmac's first ferry built outside the UK since the MV Suilven in 1974.

Bute has Azimuth thruster units with engine-driven propellers, by means of a cardan shaft, mounted on a steerable pod, protruding beneath the hull.

These made her harder to position at piers than her predecessors with Voith Schneider Propellers and led to delays in the first season.

[3] While works were being carried out at Wemyss Bay pier, Bute and Argyle were temporarily relocated to Gourock in October 2015, making each crossing an hour long.

Services resumed from Wemyss Bay in March 2016 after a £6 million pier upgrade was completed.