News / No drydock disruptions this winter
ISLANDERS can look forward to uninterrupted ferry connections this winter after new operator Serco NorthLink announced that none of the company’s three passenger vessels will be taken out of service for drydocking.
Speaking at a meeting of the Shetland External Transport Forum, the company’s managing director, Stuart Garrett, said the passenger vessels Hjaltland, Hrossey and Hamnavoe would have their next scheduled drydocking period in February 2014.
In recent years Shetlanders were regularly inconvenienced when the Hjaltland and the Hrossey were in drydock, cutting the daily overnight service in half.
Last winter the lifeline service was disrupted for nine weeks when one of Shetland’s vessels had to stand in on the Pentland Firth while the Hamnavoe was in drydock.
It now turns out that there is no legal requirement for annual drydock periods.
Mr Garrett also announced a series of refurbishments on the Hjaltland and Hrossey over the coming months, which will significantly change the internal layout of the two vessels.
They include:
- additional showers for those who don’t have cabins;
- additional reclining seats which go into the forward starboard lounge;
- seating from the forward bar to be moved into the game machine area;
- conversion of the a la carte restaurant into a “premium lounge with a gastro-pub-type dining experience”;
- increased wifi-connectivity; and
- a new menu in the restaurant, which will continue to carry island produce.
“The contractor we are looking at is very experienced in doing shipboard refurbishments,” said Mr Garrett. “It may well be that there are days when we will have to reduce the offering, but we will do that when there are fewer passengers travelling.
“There may be days when we have to block off certain areas while we do essential work, but nothing will be done that compromises safety, and I am satisfied that it can be done on the run. I am sure people will be happy that it can be done without taking the ships out of service.”
Mr Garrett further confirmed that one of the company’s freight ships will be tied up between January and June 2013 as the cargo service reverts to a one-ship only operation.
But he gave assurances that, should the amount of freight needing to be shipped be higher than expected, the second vessel would be brought back into service.
“We are satisfied for the time being that the total volume of freight on offer currently can be carried with the proposed timetable,” he said.
“It may be that this will require certain freight to be shipped the day after it might have been historically, but we will work on that over the next six weeks with a view to determining before 2013 what final shape and form our timetable will indeed take.”
A decision as to where exactly the second freighter will be tied up will be made in October, and Mr Garrett added that it was likely that the vessel would be berthed in a northern isles port.
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