News / Serco NorthLink finally admit ferry incident
NORTHERN isles ferry operator Serco NorthLink has finally acknowledged its vessel Hrossey with 500 passengers on board was forced to swerve to avoid colliding with another ship as it approached Kirkwall harbour in thick fog last Friday night.
Passengers on board the ferry said it lurched sideways, causing glasses and bottles to smash in the bar area and people outside on deck to be pushed against the wall.
One witness said they came so close to the vessel they were avoiding that you could have spat at it.
On Thursday, almost one week after the incident, NorthLink issued a statement saying they had been forced to avoid the vessel.
“MV Hrossey approached Hatston Pier in thick fog on Friday 3 July 2015 and manoeuvred to ensure safe passing distance from an anchored vessel, causing the vessel to list more than normal,” the company said.
“All the correct procedures for operating in restricted visibility were followed and the vessel was travelling at a safe speed.”
Meanwhile Orkney Islands Council, who operate the harbour at Kirkwall, said no incidents or near misses had been reported to them.
There has been no confirmation that the ship being avoided was the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s emergency towing vessel Herakles, as has been suggested.
The Hrossey was stopping at Kirkwall halfway through its journey from Lerwick to Aberdeen when the incident occurred.
Witnesses described the sea conditions as flat calm with some calling for an investigation, after calling the incident “frightening” and “scary”.
Hazel Bruce, who was on board, said the incident could have been very serious.
“With the nature of the boats that we have, if we’d hit that boat I wouldn’t like to think what would have happened,” she said.
“The journey was flat clam, but suddenly I was aware of being pushed to the left-hand side and I also heard the sound of crashing glasses and bottles in the bar.
“Bearing in mind that it was flat calm, we knew there was something not quite right.”
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