Pentalina ferry set to return more than six weeks after grounding
The Pentalina is set to resume its services between Orkney and Caithness on Tuesday – more than six weeks after running aground on South Ronaldsay.
The vessel, operated by Pentland Ferries, was taken to dry dock in Birkenhead on Merseyside in the aftermath of the incident at the end of April.
Now the company has confirmed that sailings are being reinstated this week on the St Margaret’s Hope to Gills Bay route.
Managing director Helen Inkster said: “We can confirm that, after some unanticipated delays, the work on the MV Pentalina is now complete. The vessel has met class and MCA [Maritime and Coastguard Agency] approval, and is now en route back to Orkney.
“To allow time for transit and the crew to have sufficient rest, we plan to recommence service on Tuesday, June 13. We regret the delays for our customers but are pleased that the service between St Margaret’s Hope and Gills Bay will soon be reinstated.
“We thank our customers for their patience, and our crews and shoreside teams for their unfailing dedication and determination to get the vessel back into service as soon as possible.”
Last week, Pentland Ferries said it had been “saddened” by the grounding of the ferry and the disruption caused to customers.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is looking at “machinery failure” as part of its investigation.
The Pentalina went aground on April 29 close to St Margaret’s Hope, just three days after resuming service on the route as its replacement, Alfred, started a nine-month charter with CalMac.
The Pentalina had 60 passengers on board at the time of the incident. Nobody was injured.
The vessel was issued with a safety certificate following surveys on April 18 and returned to the Pentland Firth route on April 26, after the Alfred had been loaned to CalMac in a £9 million deal to serve the Clyde and Hebrides network. The £14m Alfred had replaced the Pentalina on the Gills Bay to St Margaret’s Hope route in 2019.
The Pentalina incident came less than a year after the Alfred ran aground on the uninhabited island of Swona in July 2022, with 84 passengers and 13 crew on board.
The Pentalina and Alfred groundings are both under investigation by MAIB.
In the case of the Pentalina, the MAIB website lists the accident/incident type as "machinery failure and subsequent grounding of a UK-registered ro-ro passenger ferry at St Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay".
