- Northlink Ferries
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NorthLink Ferries Ltd 
Type Public (State-Owned) Industry Transport Founded 2006 Headquarters Stromness, Orkney, UK. Offices in Aberdeen & Lerwick Area served Pentland Firth, Orkney and Shetland Key people Bill Davidson (Chief Excutive) Services Ferries Owner(s) Scottish Government Parent David MacBrayne Ltd Website http://www.northlinkferries.co.uk 
Hrossey leaving Kirkwall
NorthLink Ferries operates daily ferry services between mainland Scotland and the northern archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland. NorthLink Ferries is a wholly owned subsidiary of David MacBrayne Ltd, whose sole shareholder is the Scottish Government.
Contents
History
The subsidised Northern Isles ferry services, previously run by P&O Scottish Ferries were put out to tender in 1999. A joint venture between Caledonian MacBrayne and the Royal Bank of Scotland named Northlink Orkney and Shetland Ferries won the service from 2002. Its ambitious plans ran into difficulties, and the service was re-tendered while Northlink ran under interim arrangements. By the closing date, bids were received from V-Ships UK Ltd, and from Caledonian MacBrayne, which put in the lower bid and won the tender. Caledonian MacBrayne formed a company named NorthLink Ferries Limited which began operating the Northern Isles ferry services on 6 July 2006.[1]
Services
NorthLink Ferries operates two routes:
- Scrabster to Stromness, Orkney (90 minutes)
- Aberdeen to Lerwick, Shetland (12 hours 30 minutes northbound; 12 hours southbound). Some services also call at Kirkwall, Orkney, which increases the journey time by 2 hours.
Fleet
Currently the NorthLink fleet consists of:
- MV Hamnavoe, on the Pentland Firth route, 112m long
- MV Hjaltland and MV Hrossey, sister ships, on the Aberdeen to Lerwick via Kirkwall route, 125m long
- MS Hildasay and MS Helliar, sister ships, used for freight and livestock to Orkney and Shetland, sailing from Aberdeen. Both ships are on charter from Seatruck Ferries.
Former fleet consists of:
- Orkney and Shetland, sailing from Aberdeen. They were sold in 2010 and 2011 both replaced by both MS Hildasay and MS Helliar.
Ferries on the Aberdeen route have onboard cinemas and occasional live entertainment.
References
- ^ Alan Rehfisch (2007). "Ferry Services in Scotland" (pdf). SPICe Briefing. Scottish Parliament Information Centre. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/briefings-07/SB07-56.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
External links
Current Ferry Operators of ScotlandInternational Domestic Argyll & Bute Ferries · Argyll Ferries · Caledonian MacBrayne · Northlink Ferries · Orkney Ferries · Pentland Ferries · SIC Ferries · Western Ferries
See Also: Transport ScotlandNationalised Industries of the Scottish Government Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited · David MacBrayne Limited (Argyll Ferries · CalMac Ferries · Northlink Ferries) · Highlands and Islands Airports Limited · Scottish Futures Trust · Scottish WaterCategories:- Northlink Ferries
- Ferry companies of Scotland
- Government-owned companies in Scotland
- Northern Isles
- Ferry stubs
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