Hamnavoe, the third new-build member of the NorthLink fleet was floated out on schedule from her Finnish dry dock at the weekend and will now be fitted out before sea trials begin.

The 110-metre ro-ro ferry which will operate on the Pentland Firth route was the third in build sequence at the Aker Finnyards base in Finland – Hrossey and Hjaltland having floated out some time ago, also on schedule – and the float-out means that the yard is on target for delivery in September. In dry-dock construction the float-out takes the place of the conventional launch.

The name Hamnavoe – meaning home port or safe haven, and with strong Orkney associations – was chosen in the islanders’ vessel-naming competition by Linda Harcus of Kirkwall.