Orkney Ferries apologises for service disruption

November 16, 2021 at 5:02 pm

Orkney Ferries has apologised to its customers after booking staff in their Kirkwall office were asked to self-isolate by Test and Protect over the weekend.

The closure led to a disruption in the ferry company’s booking system for customers in the North Isles, prompting Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur to call for more progress to be made towards an online booking system.

Giving an update on Tuesday afternoon, an Orkney Ferries spokeswoman said:

“We apologise for the short term inconvenience caused by the closure of the Orkney Ferries for seven hours on Saturday.

“HSE and Public Health Scotland’s guidance on office working processes have been followed to the letter by Orkney Ferries staff. Our staff are socially distanced and the office sanitised on a regular basis. Unfortunately, despite these measures Test and Protect contact tracers identified a number of close contacts and this posed a considerable and unprecedented strain on the system As soon as staff were contacted they sought PCR tests – but had to self-isolate at home whilst they awaited the results.

“At present the team are unable to operate outside of the office. Efforts have been ongoing over a number of months now to update IT systems within Orkney Ferries, to allow for more dynamic and flexible working practices in the future – including an online booking system – but this has been hampered by global IT shortages and supplier issues beyond the ability of the team to control or influence.

“A service was restored at the first opportunity, albeit on a limited scale – and we are back to normal from today (Tuesday).

“Whilst we appreciate the situation is far from ideal, we would ask for recognition that for the duration of this pandemic, our staff and crews have put considerable time and effort into supporting all our island communities – reacting at often short notice to regulatory changes to ensure the continuation of this important service. We appreciate the frustration felt by our customers over the weekend but the abuse that has been received across social media and on the telephone is unacceptable and unfair.”

Mr McArthur held a meeting with Orkney Ferries on Monday to discuss this recent disruption to the booking system and progress towards moving to an online system.

On Monday, Mr McArthur met with Jim Buck, OIC’s head of marine services, and councillor David Dawson, chair of Orkney Ferries board.

Commenting on the meeting, Mr McArthur said:

“Firstly, I hope those Orkney Ferries staff who are currently self-isolating are well and able to return to work soon.

“It was helpful to discuss the background to what happened at the weekend and understand why contingency arrangements were not put in place immediately. I gather that steps have now been taken to re-route calls in order to restore the booking system, although communication about what was happening could have been better.

“However, this latest incident has simply underlined the importance and urgency of Orkney Ferries moving to an online booking system. I have been assured for months, if not years, that such a system is ‘about to be introduced’ but no firm dates have ever been set.

“That cannot continue. If the current contractors are unable to deliver what is needed, Orkney Ferries needs to replace them with someone who can. Given the lifeline nature of these services, the public and staff deserve a booking system fit for the job.”