NorthLink has confirmed the schedule for forthcoming annual refit work on its fleet.

While MV Hjaltland and MV Hrossey – which operate the Northern Isles services out of Aberdeen – benefit from requiring only an in-water survey this year, thus shortening considerably time out of service, MV Hamnavoe, which operates on the Stromness - Scrabster Pentland Firth  route,  will undergo a dry-dock inspection and works including modification of the fuel system.

The in-water surveys will be carried out during the period February 12 – 22 (inclusive) with passenger vessel sailings to and from Shetland reduced to an “every-other-day” basis.  Throughout the inspection period NorthLink’s freight vessels will ensure daily departures for commercial vehicles.

Hamnavoe will dock in Fredericia, Denmark, between 13 - 29 April (inclusive). Among other works, the planned fuel system modification will allow the vessel to run on low sulphur MF40 fuel, as currently used in NorthLink’s vessel MV Hascosay and the chartered freighter MF Clare.

For the period when Hamnavoe is off-station the Pentland Firth route will be serviced by Hjaltland.

Last year, NorthLink conducted successful berthing trials with Hjaltland at Scrabster and Stromness in order to establish whether the slightly larger vessel could operate at both locations. MV Hjaltland measures 125 metres compared to Hamnavoe’s 110 metres.  The redeployment of Hjaltland in place of Hamnavoe allows the company to keep traffic moving from within its own resources.  For the duration of this ‘stand-in’ period the Shetland passenger service will operate on alternate days, with back-up from the scheduled freight services.

Chief Executive Bill Davidson said:

“So as to minimise disruption, we seek always to schedule refit work for the quietest times of the year.  Setting the Hjaltland and Hrossey in-water survey schedules has been relatively straightforward but fixing the dry-dock schedule for Hamnavoe has been more problematical.”

“The dates now fixed have it slotted between the end of the school holidays and the start of the Shetland Folk Festival – an event we were very keen not to impinge upon this year.  While we recognise that this will mean two separate periods of disruption on the Lerwick-Aberdeen route, the total time out of service is less than would normally be required and considerably shorter than last year when extensive work was required to introduce new cabin accommodation,” he said.

Mr Davidson added:

“While we have tried to keep the affected sailings clear of bookings, any unavoidable last-minute changes on the dry-dock timings may mean that some passengers will not be able to travel as booked.

“However, our customer service staff will work to ensure all are contacted and travel re-arranged. The new timetables will be widely advertised in the island press and on the NorthLink website. Customer service staff can be contacted on 0845 6000 449,” he said.