Golden Mariana called in after Graemsay breakdown

The scheduled ferry service to Graemsay and the north of Hoy will be restored tomorrow, Thursday, following a breakdown of the usual vessel, mv Graemsay.

The mv Golden Mariana has been brought in from its usual routes to and from Papa Westray to cover the Stromness-Graemsay-Moaness service from tomorrow. In its place, the council’s pilot boat, Kirkwall Bay, is being dispatched to Pierowall tonight to carry out services to Papa Westray. It will run the regular timetabled service, with additional sailings as required, due to its lower passenger capacity.

An additional vessel has been drafted in to cover the Graemsay’s scheduled Tuesday and Friday freight services to Graemsay and Moaness.

It is expected these arrangements will be in place for about a week while reconditioning work on a spare engine for the Graemsay is progressed. The long-term options for addressing yesterday’s bearing damage to the port engine on the Graemsay are still being assessed.

Head of marine services, engineering and transportation, Brian Archibald, said: “The interim arrangements we have put in place maintain the service for the north of Hoy and, of course, Graemsay.

“The knock-on effect is a reduced capacity service for Papay, while we work on getting the Graemsay back up and running, though we expect that reduced demand this time of year will minimise disruptions for the Papay community and we will run extra sailing if necessary to further reduce the impact.

“Meantime, a programme to fit, procure and install engines and gearboxes to Graemsay, approved by the council last year, is under way, but unfortunately this latest defect has arisen before that work has had a chance to deliver.

“We are, of course, working to ensure our usual services are restored as soon as possible for folk in Hoy, Graemsay and Papay.”