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MV Hjaltland carries passengers, cars, freight and livestock. There are a choice of restaurants, bars and lounges, children's play area and a cinema. The restaurants and lounges have a total seating capacity of 600. The original 100 cabins had a total of 300 beds. [5] All cabins are en-suite, most being two berth, with a number of four-berth cabins for families. [6] In April 2007, an additional accommodation module was fitted in Birkenhead, increasing her capacity to 356 berths. [7] The ship is fitted with lifts and was built to accommodate disabled passengers throughout. There are 10 officer and 28 crew cabins.
Each pair of diesel engines drives a controllable-pitch propeller through a gearbox. There are two rudders, two 900 kW bow thrusters and two Mitsubishi stabilisers. [1] [4]
Fair Isle, sometimes Fairisle, is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. The most remote inhabited island in the United Kingdom, it is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. The island has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1954.
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
Lerwick is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010.
The Northern Isles are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are the Hebrides. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are a total of 36 inhabited islands. The landscapes of the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrast with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north, where the economy is more dependent on fishing and on the oil wealth of the surrounding seas. Both island groups have a developing renewable energy industry. Both have a Pictish and Norse history. Both were part of the Kingdom of Norway until they were absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland in the 15th century. They remained part of it until the 1707 formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the 1801 formation of the United Kingdom. They both played a significant naval role during the world wars of the 20th century.
Sumburgh Airport is the main airport serving Shetland in Scotland. It is located on the southern tip of the mainland, in the parish of Dunrossness, 17 NM south of Lerwick. The airport is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) and served by Loganair.
Scatsta Airport, was a commercial airport on the island of Mainland, Shetland in Scotland located 17 nautical miles north of Lerwick and 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Sullom Voe Terminal.
NorthLink Ferries is an operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, as well as ferry services, between mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. Since July 2012, it has been operated by international services company Serco.
P&O Scottish Ferries ran ferry services between the Scottish mainland and Orkney and Shetland from 1971 to 2002.
The Ve Skerries or Vee Skerries are a group of low skerries three miles (4.8 km) north west of Papa Stour, on the west coast of Shetland, Scotland. They define the southwest perimeter of St Magnus Bay.
MV Hebrides is a ferry owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited and operated by Caledonian MacBrayne from Uig to Lochmaddy and Tarbert, the main settlements of North Uist and Harris respectively.
SS St. Sunniva was one of the first purpose-built cruise ships. Converted into a ferry in 1908, she operated as the Lerwick mail steamer until 10 April 1930, when she ran aground off Shetland and was a complete loss.
The North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company, which was more usually known as The North of Scotland or The North Company, its full name rarely being used, was a UK shipping company based in Aberdeen, originally formed in 1875 from a merger of older Scottish shipping companies. The company operated most of the ferries from mainland Scotland to Orkney and Shetland, latterly as P&O Scottish Ferries until 2002, when it was replaced by NorthLink Ferries.
MV Hamnavoe is a car and passenger ferry, built in 2002 and operated by NorthLink Ferries across the Pentland Firth from the mainland of Scotland to the Orkney Islands.
MV Claymore was a car and passenger ferry built in 1978 for Caledonian MacBrayne. For ten years, she operated between Oban and the Outer Isles. Between October 2002 and March 2009, she was the Pentland Ferries relief vessel on the Short Sea Crossing to Orkney. Since March 2009, she has operated, as MV Sia, a RORO cable-laying and supply vessel. During 2022, the vessel was renamed to MV Ocean Link.
Norröna is the Faroes' largest ferry. It sails between Hirtshals, Denmark to Tórshavn, the Faroe Islands and Seyðisfjörður, Iceland.
MV Hebridean Princess is a cruise ship operated by Hebridean Island Cruises. She started life as the MacBrayne car ferry and Royal Mail Ship, initially RMS then MV Columba, based in Oban for the first 25 years of her life, carrying up to 600 passengers, and 50 cars, between the Scottish islands.
MV Muirneag is a ro-ro freight ferry, built in 1979 as MV Mercandian Carrier. From 1986 to 2002, she was named MV Belard, serving initially across the Irish Sea. From 2002 to 2013, she was chartered by Caledonian MacBrayne on the Stornoway to Ullapool freight crossing, until she was replaced by Clipper Ranger.
MV Hrossey is a NorthLink Ferries vehicle and passenger ferry based in Aberdeen. With her sister ship, MV Hjaltland, she operates a daily ferry service between mainland Scotland and the northern archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland.
Robert Nisbet (1834–1917) was a Shetland sea captain. He was born on 15 October 1834 at Burravoe on the island of Yell, Shetland. He died on 3 May 1917 at Leith, Scotland.
On 23 August 2013, a Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma helicopter belonging to CHC Helicopters crashed into the sea 2 nautical miles from Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, while en route from the Borgsten Dolphin drilling rig. The accident killed four passengers; twelve other passengers and two crew were rescued with injuries. A further passenger killed himself in 2017 as a result of PTSD caused by the crash. An investigation by the UK's Air Accident Investigation Branch concluded in 2016 that the accident was primarily caused by pilot error in failing to monitor instruments during approach. The public inquiry concluded in October 2020 that the crash was primarily caused by pilot error.
United Kingdom