Hjaltland cancelled, Hrossey delayed

LIFELINE ferry operator NorthLink has now cancelled the southbound sailing of the Hjaltland on Monday night due to the expected storm force winds and very high seas around Fair Isle.

A gale warning for Fair Isle issued by the Met Office at 09.35 UTC described the sea state as “high or very high, becoming phenomenal for a time in west”.

The Hrossey’s northbound service, due to leave Aberdeen at 7pm, is planned to be operated but will be delayed for around 10 hours.

NorthLink said on Monday morning that its passenger vessel would load as normal but would then delay its departure until later in the night, possibly not before 5am, on Tuesday morning.

The vessel is estimated to arrive in Lerwick at around 5pm on Tuesday.

Subsequently there will be no sailing from Aberdeen on Tuesday as both passenger vessels will be in Lerwick for a time.

The company’s cargo vessel Hildasay, scheduled to leave Lerwick for Kirkwall and Aberdeen later on Monday, will stay in port.

Meanwhile, Shetland Islands Council’s inter-island ferry service experiences disruptions on Bressay Sound. Further info is available by calling 01595 743974.