Earl Sigurd collision reported to Marine Accident Investigation Branch

Orkney Islands Council (OIC) has appealed to the Scottish Government over its ageing ferry fleet, as an incident involving one of its vessels has been reported to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

The mv Earl Sigurd’s collision with a Galt Buoy over the weekend has also been reported to the Maritime and Coastguard Authority.

Meanwhile, the team at Orkney Ferries have been praised for their response to the ferry issues this weekend, while the Scottish Government has been criticised for stalling in its fleet replacement efforts.

However, spokesman for the Scottish Government has said that it “remains committed” to the Orkney Internal Ferry Replacement Task Force — despite not date for a future meeting being set.

Councillor Mellissa Thomson, chairwoman of the Orkney Ferries board has spoken out following a challenging weekend for the company, which saw not one but two ferries fall foul of issues.

On Friday, mv Earl Thorfinn developed bow thruster issues and was taken out of service. On late Saturday morning, the Earl Sigurd, which has been completing additional runs to deal with the loss of her sister ship, was in a “minor collision” with the Galt Buoy.  With any damage needing to be assessed, she too was taken out of service.

The team at Orkney Ferries, then acted to remove the required bow thruster elements from the Sigurd, swapping them out for the damaged elements in the Thorfinn — allowing the latter  to get on the move again by early Saturday evening.

Orkney Islands Council has been in talks over a number of years with the Scottish Government around funding for the ageing internal ferry fleet. A taskforce was established by then Finance Minister John Swinney in December 2022 to look at the issue. The group met in January 2023, but following Mr Swinney’s resignation in March, the taskforce has not met again and, according to OIC, talks have effectively stalled.

Councillor Thomson said: “Our crews — both shoreside and at sea — worked incredibly hard on Friday to deal with the issues from the Thorfinn, drafting in the Nordic Sea as a passenger only service and coming up with some creative timetabling to keep things moving as best they could.

“When the news came through on Saturday about the Sigurd, we could have been completely scunnered. Some would have thrown in the towel in exasperation and accepted the situation as it was. Not our team — they rolled their sleeves up, got their heads together and came up with a practical solution to keep the service running. Parts were swiftly shifted from one Earl to the other — and we were back up and running as quick as we could — with our office staff doing a fantastic job in difficult circumstances, keeping our passengers up to date with what was happening.

“It shouldn’t have to be like this though. With every day, week, month and year that passes without a resolution, the resilience of our fleet is slipping away like sand in an egg timer — time is absolutely of the essence and the Scottish Government needs to get back to the table.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government remains committed to the Orkney Internal Ferry Replacement Task Force. The next timing of the next meeting will be agreed with relevant stakeholders in due course.”

For the full story, pick up next week’s edition of The Orcadian.