Cable repair ship en route to Orkney

A vessel needed to repair a damaged subsea cable is set to arrive in Orkney tomorrow.

Works are hoped to take place next week, a month on from when the internet blackout struck in the North Isles.

BT, the owner of the cable between Evie and Westray, came under criticism from Liam McArthur over its response to the outage.

This afternoon, the Orkney Local Emergency Coordination Group (OLECG) met to discuss the blackout.

A spokesman for the group said: “Partners were provided with an update from BT, confirming that a repair vessel is currently en route to Orkney and, all going well, is expected to arrive in council waters tomorrow.

“The vessel will inspect the cable and carry out any necessary repairs, with works anticipated to take place over the course of next week.”

The blackout, which began on Monday, March 16, has seen many businesses forced to rely on 4G hotspots.

People working remotely have struggled to do so, and community groups have sprung into action to support the most vulnerable and isolated residents.

Earlier today, a spokeswoman for BT told The Orcadian that the company understands the importance of digital connectivity, and the “strength of feeling in the North Isles” about the disruption.

“We are very sorry for the impact it’s having in these communities and we are doing everything we can to get services restored as quickly as possible,” she added.

The spokeswoman said the specialist repair vessel requires five clear weather days on site to complete the work.

Yesterday, it emerged that a subsea cable providing electricity to Northern Ronaldsay cannot be fixed, and will have to be replaced.