Orkney Ferries are ‘working incredibly hard’ as Earl Thorfinn is out of action

 The Earl Thorfinn is having bow thruster issues and is likely to be out of action until Wednesday at the earliest.

As a result, Orkney Ferries say there will be some significant changes to services over the next few days.

The team are working to minimise the impact of the disruption on the North Isles Sports, due to take place in Stronsay this weekend.

This will include the Nordic Sea being drafted in to provide a passenger service between Kirkwall, Eday, and Stronsay. Also, the crew who would usually run the Thorfinn will be taking over the Sigurd to run some late night services to clear any vehicle or cargo backlog.

An Orkney Ferries spokeswoman said: “These things are frustrating for everyone when they happen — and it couldn’t have happened on a worse weekend — but our teams, both shoreside and at sea, are working incredibly hard in challenging circumstances to get everyone where they want to be. Special thanks to them for all their efforts.”

Booked passengers are being contacted and online bookings are suspended meantime.