‘Bringing things to a grinding halt?’
With yet another announcement of NorthLink ferry cancellations in fairly normal winter gusts, it brought on a conversation with a former P&O Scottish Ferries Ltd pal.
He suggested that despite being older, the ships P&O had on the Northern Isles service were far better seagoing ships than the present tubs.
He also said that the last couple of years of cancelled sailings were, in his opinion greater than the cancellations throughout the whole 30 years of P&O’s operation.
I have no idea if this is correct, if the present ships are unsuited to this service, if the weather at this time off year is windier, or if maritime safety regulations have done what ever increasing Health & Safety rules do – bring things to a grinding halt?
But I do wonder what more expert and knowledgeable seagoing folk of Shetland think about this?
Vic Thomas
Catfirth