Extra sailings added on Orkney route amid disruption caused by ferry grounding

A ferry operator has added extra return trips to Orkney to help boost sailings after a ship running aground led to services being cancelled.

NorthLink Ferries is running an additional crossing on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays between Scrabster on the mainland and Stromness on Orkney from now until June 30.

It had previously announced plans to add an extra return sailing on Sundays amid disruption caused after Pentland Ferries vessel the Pentalina ran aground at St Margaret’s Hope on Orkney last month.

There were 60 passengers on board at the time of the incident on April 29 but no-one was hurt.

Initial reports suggest the ferry suffered a “sudden mechanical failure”, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said, but investigations continue.

Pentland Ferries announced on Sunday that services between Gills Bay on the mainland and St Margaret’s Hope will be cancelled until May 21.

Stuart Garrett, Serco’s managing director for NorthLink Ferries, said: “We hope these additional sailings help maintain access between Orkney and the Scottish mainland, particularly as residents and visitors alike look forward to the much anticipated Orkney Folk Festival at the end of this month and the St Magnus Festival in June.

“We want to reassure the community that we are in close contact with the Scottish Government and will continue to assess how we can best support travel on this route.”

Transport minister Kevin Stewart said: “I very much welcome NorthLink increasing their sailings across the Pentland Firth to meet demand during a challenging time for Orkney’s communities and businesses.

“NorthLink have been proactively assessing capacity up to this point and they have assured me they will continue to review ongoing demand for the remainder of the month and into June.”

Announcing the cancellations, Pentland Ferries said in a statement on its website: “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. We are doing all we can to minimise the disruption and will share any further updates as and when we can.”

Orkney MSP Liam McArthur welcomed the additional sailings, which he had called for.

The Liberal Democrat said: “Hopefully these will help in addressing the pinch points that have been causing concern to local businesses and the wider public as well as restoring connectivity with the smaller isles in Orkney.

“In recent days I have continued to receive reports from constituents and local businesses about the difficulties they have faced, both in terms of lost capacity and revenue foregone. As we enter the busiest time of the year, it is vitally important that Orkney has the freight and passenger capacity required across the Pentland Firth.

“Beyond that we finally need to see some recognition from the Scottish Government that there is no slack in the system and that new vessels will be needed across the network to relieve the pressure.”