MV Hoy Head at Lyness, Hoy. | |
History | |
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Name: | MV Hoy Head |
Owner: | Orkney Islands Council |
Operator: | Orkney Ferries |
Port of registry: | Kirkwall |
Builder: | Appledore Shipbuilders, Devon |
Completed: | 1994 |
Identification: |
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General characteristics | |
Class and type: | MCA Class IV |
Type: | Ro-Ro Vehicle & Passenger Ferry |
Tonnage: | 358 GT (before lengthening) |
Length: | 53.5 m (175.5 ft) |
Beam: | 9.8 m (32.2 ft) |
Draft: | 2.5 m (8.2 ft) |
Ramps: | bow/stern |
Installed power: | 2 Volvos (2 × 370 kW) |
Speed: | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
Capacity: | 125 passengers; 24 cars or approximately 100 tonnes |
Crew: | 5 |
Notes: | [2] [3] |
MV Hoy Head is a Ro-Ro vehicle ferry operated by Orkney Ferries.
Orkney Ferries is a Scottish company operating inter-island ferry services in the Orkney Islands.
MV Hoy Head was built by Appledore Shipbuilders in North Devon in 1994. [2] In 2013, the ferry entered Cammell Laird shipyard to be lengthened to increase her capacity. The work involved cutting the ferry in half and inserting a newly built section amidships, as well as a general overhaul which included upgraded passenger and crew spaces, uprated engines, replacement of the steering/propulsion units and the addition of a second bow thruster. [3]
Appledore Shipbuilders is a shipbuilder in Appledore, North Devon.
North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the Barnstaple municipal borough, the Ilfracombe and Lynton urban districts, and the Barnstaple and South Molton rural districts.
Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. The company came about following the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, when that side of the business was separated and became part of the Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company.
She is the fourth vessel of the same name. An earlier one was a former naval ferry (originally MFV 1258) operating from Houton to Lyness. [4] She was fitted with a 150 hp Gardener engine, but now lies derelict in Irvine harbour. [5]
Hoy Head (III) was built in the Faroe Islands in 1973 for Shetland Islands Council, operating as Geira, between Yell and Unst. She was sold to the Orkney Island Shipping Company in 1986 and superseded in 1991 by Thorsvoe, remaining as the secondary ferry to the South Isles until the introduction of Hoy Head (IV) in 1994. [6]
The Faroe Islands, or the Faeroe Islands, is a North Atlantic archipelago located 200 miles (320 km) north-northwest of the United Kingdom and about halfway between Norway and Iceland—are an autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Total area is about 1,400 square kilometres (540 sq mi) with a population of 50,322 in October 2017.
Yell is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland. In the 2011 census it had a usually resident population of 966. It is the second largest island in Shetland after the Mainland with an area of 82 square miles (212 km2), and is the third most populous in the archipelago, after the Mainland and Whalsay.
Unst is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third largest island in Shetland after the Mainland and Yell. It has an area of 46 square miles (120 km2).
Steamship Hoy Head, built by Abercorn Shipbuilding Co. of Paisley, was launched on 18 October 1883 and sank off Cornwall on 12 November 1887. [7]
Hoy Head has one passenger lounge below the vehicle deck. These have no external windows and in favourable weather passengers, particularly tourists during summer season, often use the high-level open side decks. [8]
The vessel is fitted with two Rolls Royce azimuth thrusters fitted during her lengthening, replacing the previously fitted Schottel units. [3]
MV Hoy Head operates the South Isles Service in Orkney, between Houton and Lyness on Hoy. [9] She also serves Flotta and South Walls.
During the summer months Hoy Head was joined by Orkney Ferries spare vessel MV Thorsvoe to supplement the increased volume in tourist traffic, however this practice was abandoned after summer 2012.
Flotta is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland and Lyness and Longhope on Hoy. The island has a population of 80.
Houton is a settlement 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Stromness on the island of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Orphir, and is situated on a minor road off the A964.
Lyness is a village on the east coast of the island of Hoy, Orkney, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Walls and Flotta, and is situated at the junction of the B9047 and B9048.
MV Hebridean Isles is a ro-ro vehicle ferry owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited and operated by Caledonian MacBrayne on the west coast of Scotland. She was the first MacBrayne vessel to be built outside Scotland and the first to be launched sideways. With bow, stern and side ramps, Hebridean Isles is suitable for all the routes served by the large fleet units. After 15 years crossing the Little Minch on the Uig triangle, she now serves Islay.
MV Ben-my-Chree is a Ro-Pax vessel which was launched and entered service in 1998. The flagship of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, it primarily operates on the Douglas to Heysham route.
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.
MV Pioneer is a stern / side loading ferry built in 1974, in service for 29 years covering nearly all of Caledonian MacBrayne's routes. She now serves the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea and was chartered to rescue Liberian refugees.
MV Coruisk is a Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited ferry built in 2003, operated by Caledonian MacBrayne and serving the west coast of Scotland.
MS ANT 1 was a ro-ro ferry operated by Stena Line between Larne, Northern Ireland and Fleetwood, England. The ferry did not carry passengers, insteading solely carrying freight.
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 Hjaltland is a NorthLink Ferries vehicle and passenger ferry based in Aberdeen. She operates daily ferry services between mainland Scotland and the northern archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland.
MV Clansman was the second of a trio of hoist-loading car ferries built for David MacBrayne Ltd in 1964 and operated on the Mallaig to Armadale, Skye route for ten years. Converted to ro-ro operation, she operated on the Stornoway, Isle of Mull and Arran services. Underpowered and troubled by mechanical breakdowns, she was taken out of service after just 20 years.
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.
MV Suilven was a vehicle ferry built in 1974 and operated for 21 years by Caledonian MacBrayne on the Ullapool to Stornoway route. She subsequently operated in New Zealand and later in Fiji.
TSS (RMS) Manx Maid (II) was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in 1962, and was the second ship in the Company's history to bear the name.
MV Thorsvoe is a Ro-Ro vehicle ferry operated by Orkney Ferries.
MV Shapinsay is a Ro-Ro vehicle ferry operated by Orkney Ferries.
MV Red Kestrel is a freight ferry built by Cammell Laird for Red Funnel for use on their route from Southampton to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. She was launched on 19 February 2019 and is expected to enter service in May 2019 after completing her sea trials.