MV Pentalina: Caithness to Orkney ferry bookings cancelled for further fortnight
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Pentland Ferries has cancelled all bookings on its route between Gills Bay and Orkney for a further two weeks after its vessel was grounded just three days after returning to service.
The MV Pentalina was grounded close to St Margaret's Hope on Saturday, April 29, with 60 passengers on board. Nobody was injured in the incident.
Investigations by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) are continuing.
The Pentalina was issued with a safety certificate following surveys on April 18 and returned to the Pentland Firth route on Wednesday, April 26, after the Alfred had been loaned to CalMac in a £9 million deal to serve the Clyde and Hebrides network. The £14 million Alfred had replaced the Pentalina on the Gills Bay to St Margaret’s Hope route in 2019.
The Pentalina incident came less than a year after the Alfred ran aground on the uninhabited island of Swona in July 2022, with 84 passengers and 13 crew on board. The Alfred incident is still under investigation by MAIB.
A spokesperson for Pentland Ferries said: "We regret that we are now cancelling all passenger bookings on the St Margaret’s Hope to Gills Bay route up to and including Sunday, May 21.
"All booked passengers are being contacted directly. 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."
Last week, NorthLink Ferries said it was adding an extra return crossing of the Pentland Firth to its Sunday timetable to help fill the gap left by the Pentalina.
The extended timetable for the Hamnavoe on the 90-minute Scrabster/Stromness route is currently being offered until June 25.
NorthLink says the extra return crossing "is intended to help support residents and visitors whose travel plans have been affected by the suspension of Pentland Ferries' sailings".
The Hamnavoe Sunday service moved to a revised timetable from last Sunday.
Stromness to Scrabster sailings will run at 06:30, 11:00 and 16:45.
Scrabster to Stromness sailings will be 08:45, 13:15 and 19:00.
Stuart Garrett, Serco’s managing director for NorthLink Ferries, said: “We hope the additional round trip we’ve introduced will help those whose travel plans have been affected to reach their destination safely.
"We are in close contact with the local community and Scottish Government and will continue discussions around how we can support travel on this route."
He added: “Regrettably, adding this additional resilience does mean that we’ve no choice but to cancel the Orkney Nature Festival cruise around Hoy, which was scheduled to take place on May 14."
