Hjaltland’s return from dry dock delayed

MV Hjaltland’s return from repairs in dry dock has been delayed, with sailings impacted until at least this Friday.

Serco NorthLink Ferries said a flood occurred in the pump room of the ship as it was being re-floated in dry dock on Thursday, February 20.

Nobody was injured in the incident, which has extended the Hjaltland’s time off the Aberdeen, Kirkwall, and Lerwick route. It was originally supposed to be back in service on Monday, February 24. Instead, mv Hrossey has taken its place.

In a statement issued on today (Tuesday, March 4), Stuart Garrett, managing director of Serco NorthLink Ferries, said: “Work on the mv Hjaltland is progressing well, however the vessel will not return to service before the weekend.

“The timetable has now been updated and customers who will be impacted by these changes will be contacted directly.

“As before, the mv Hrossey continues to operate our passenger service between Aberdeen, Kirkwall and Lerwick, with the mv Helliar and Hildasay providing freight services.

“Further updates will be provided as more information is available.”

An update on NorthLink’s website says that, as work on mv Hjaltland continues, “there will be changes to scheduled sailing until at least Friday, March 7, with a possibility of changes on Saturday and Sunday.”