News and Updates

Due to a failure of one of the bow thrusters on board the Hoy Head identified during annual refit, the vessel will continue in service with some restricted operability in certain prevailing weather conditions with a single bow thruster in operation as it has done over the last few weeks.

This will unfortunately continue to have an impact on some sailings that may have been possible otherwise with both bow thrusters operable.

Considering the long lead time for replacement parts which are now on order and scheduled to be delivered to us in around 10-12 weeks, we considered that it was better to have the vessel return to service operating on the Hoy route throughout the busy spring and summer period albeit with the potential of some increased disruption due to the restrictions outlined above.

We plan to operate the vessel throughout the summer period on the scheduled service until such time that we have taken delivery of the required parts to complete the repair. When the repair to the Hoy Head is being completed and the vessel is out of service the MV Thorsvoe will return to cover as relief vessel on the route.

If there is any potential improvement to the timescales for the delivery of parts and the completion of the repair, we will share this information in due course. We apologise in advance to our customers for any inconvenience that will be caused because of this over the summer period and thank you for your patience in this matter.

We regret to advise that there is a further delay to the Nordic Sea returning from refit.

This is due to supply chain delivery time challenges for engine spares.

We have contacted all passengers who have been affected.

The vessel is expected to return to service on Monday 25^th May.

We would like to advise that due a delay with MV Graemsay returning from refit, Northerly Marine services will continue on the route until 24th April.

We would recommend booking in advance as passenger spaces on this service are limited to 12.

To increase capacity, we have added additional sailings, these are on request and must be booked online or through the office at least one hour before departure from Stromness.

Additional sailing times can be seen on our Graemsay refit timetable available on our website https://www.orkneyferries.co.uk/timetables

Larger freight items for cargo sailings will be on request, and will need to be booked through the office.

We would like to advise passengers that the 07:20 Westray service on Saturday 2nd May will operate to the following schedule.

Depart Kirkwall 06:40

Arrive Westray 08:05

Depart Westray 08:15

Arrive Kirkwall 09:40

This is to accommodate Westray rugby players attending Rugby Sevens in Kirkwall.

All affected passengers have been contacted.

We are happy to announce that our summer timetables from the 3rd May – 27th September 2026 are now open for bookings through our offices or online booking system.

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Orkney Ferries offers customers a way to receive disruption and cancellation messages to a smart phone or computer via Telegram.

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You can use Telegram on smartphones, tablets, and even computers. It’s very easy to use and only requires a name and mobile phone number to create an account.

To receive updates from please download the Telegram app from your app store, set up your account and then return to this page and select our unique link, which you can access by clicking here - Orkney Ferries Telegram Channel

Once on the channel you will be messaged with any updates on disruptions or cancellations in real time.

- Please note, Telegram is an internationally used social media site/app meaning users may be suspect to receiving spam messages from unknown accounts. When creating a profile to join our channel, be sure to set your Privacy and Security settings to limit Invites and Forwarded Messages.