Last liner of the season arrives

The last visiting cruise liner of the season called into Kirkwall Pier this morning.

The Fram arrived from Portree at 8am and is due to depart for Leith at 2pm.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Kirkwall had come runner up in the global Seatrade Insider Cruise Port of the Year award.

The port was shortlisted against Port Everglades in Miami, which secured first place, and Port Toulon in France, which was placed third.

This season has seen 73 liners call, with over 2.5 million gross tonnes of shipping – the largest cruise tonnage ever reported by OIC Marine Services.

Final passenger numbers are being calculated but it is expected that 55,000-60,000 passengers will have called this season and around 20,000 crew.

The 2014 season has already 73 ships booked and 2015 has 30 liners already with berth and anchorage reservations.