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NorthLink Ferries (also referred to as Serco NorthLink Ferries [1]) is an operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, as well as ferry services, between mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. Since July 2012, it has been operated by international services company Serco.
A joint venture between Caledonian MacBrayne and the Royal Bank of Scotland named NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries won the tender for the subsidised Northern Isles services, previously run by P&O Scottish Ferries, commencing in 2002. The ambitious programme ran into financial difficulties, and the service was again put out to tender.
CalMac ferry Loch Frisa fitting out at Leith MV Loch Frisa. MV Loch Frisa is a former Norled ferry bought by Caledonian MacBrayne in 2021. She was built in 2015 as Utne and operated for Norled for 6 years. She is a double-ender ferry with passenger capacity for 195, and capacity for 40 cars, or 4 HGVs.
In August 2012, a man died after falling overboard into the North Sea about 20 miles (30 kilometres) north of Fraserburgh. [8]On 23 August 2013, MV Hjaltland was diverted from its normal route to assist with search and rescue efforts following the crash of a Super Puma helicopter 2 mi (3 km) off the Shetland coast close to Sumburgh. [9]
In April 2018 it was agreed that the five vessels operated by NorthLink Ferries on routes to the Orkney and Shetland islands would also join the fleet. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] Many ferries are specially built for the ports they serve yet are still interchangeable and able to serve different crossings and can carry from one to 143 cars.
Since 1982, Glenachulish has operated the Glenelg ferry across Kylerhea narrows. The 550-metre (600-yard) crossing takes five minutes and is the shortest sea crossing to Skye. The ferry runs seven days a week between Easter and October. It operates every twenty minutes (or as required, if it is busy) from 10am to 6pm (to 7pm June to August). [8]
A fleet of 31 ferries serve a 52 ports and 49 routes on the ferry network in Scotland, with 5.3 million passengers travelling on the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry network in 2018. [23] The ferry network in Scotland is faced with issues, in part due to the ageing fleet of the Caledonian MacBrayne network. [24]
Hamnavoe is the first ferry to have been specifically built for the Pentland Firth route, [citation needed] and was given the old Norse name for Stromness, meaning 'Home Port' or 'Safe Haven'. [3] The ship was originally ordered in October 2000 from Ferguson Shipbuilders at Port Glasgow but Fergusons withdrew from the contract only two months ...