Skerries ferry out of action after rope wound up in propellor

THE SKERRIES ferry Filla has been taken out of service after rope was wound up in her propellor.

It comes as three other Shetland Islands Council ferries – the Geira, Daggri and Hendra – are currently out of action due to planned dry dock, reducing some services to a single vessel.

At a council meeting on Monday the current fragility of the inter-island services was highlighted, with North Isles member Robert Thomson saying there were no spare ferries left in the fleet at the moment.

But the Skerries ferry Filla was also withdrawn from service last week following the winding up of the port side propeller by a section of discarded rope.

With scheduled dry dock coming soon too, the decision has been made to keep the ferry out of service in the meantime, with the Fivla covering until the Filla is back.

“Some elements of the repair will require the vessel to be taken out of the water, and as the vessel was already scheduled for annual dry-docking in early April, the vessel will remain out of service until that time,” a spokesperson for the council said.

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“Ahead of this scheduled departure to dry-dock, repairs to the gearbox will continue.”

Meanwhile the Bressay ferry Leirna had to tie up in Lerwick after midday today (Wednesday) for a short period following a technical issue, before resuming service.

The council recently went out to procurement on a new relief ferry, with a £10 million Scottish Government grant set to be used towards its purchase.