MV ''Hamnavoe'' is a car and passenger ferry, built in 2002 and operated by

NorthLink Ferries NorthLink Ferries (also referred to as Serco NorthLink Ferries) is an operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, as well as ferry services, between mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. Since July 2012, it has been oper ...

across the

Pentland Firth The Pentland Firth ( gd, An Caol Arcach, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. Etymology The name is presumed to be a corrup ...

from the mainland of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

to the Orkney Islands.

Description

The ship, with a length of and beam , measures . ''Hamnavoe'' has a capacity for 600 passengers and 68 cars. Facilities include passenger lounges and bars, a self-service restaurant, a children's playroom, a sun deck and a games room. There are 16 passenger cabins with two or four berths, which are all en-suite. There are two specially-adapted cabins for the disabled and wheelchair access throughout the ship. ''Hamnavoe'' is powered by twin MaK 9M32C diesels, totalling and resulting in a service speed of

History

''Hamnavoe'' is the first ferry to have been specifically built for the

route, and was given the old Norse name for Stromness, meaning 'Home Port' or 'Safe Haven'. The ship was originally ordered in October 2000 from

Ferguson Shipbuilders Ferguson may refer to: Places Canada *Ferguson Avenue (Hamilton, Ontario) *Ferguson, British Columbia *Mount Ferguson (Ontario), a mountain in Temagami, Ontario United States *Ferguson, a meteorite fall in North Carolina *Ferguson, Arkansas * F ...

at Port Glasgow but Fergusons withdrew from the contract only two months later due to design arrangements and production scheduling. The construction was re-allocated to Aker Finnyards at

Rauma, Finland Rauma (; sv, Raumo) is a town and municipality of around () inhabitants on the west coast of Finland, north of Turku, and south of Pori. Its neighbouring municipalities are Eura, Eurajoki, Laitila and Pyhäranta. Granted town privileges on 1 ...

which had already been awarded contracts for two larger ferries for NorthLink. The ship was the third vessel in Aker's build sequence, after and the , and was completed in October 2002. However, due to delays in the building of the new pier in

Scrabster Scrabster ( sco, Scraibster, gd, Sgrabastair/Sgrabstal) is a small settlement on Thurso Bay in Caithness on the north coast of Scotland. It is some from Thurso, from Wick, from Inverness and 271.7 miles (437.2 km) from Edinburgh. Scr ...

, ''Hamnavoe'' was laid up in Leith. Since 2003 the formal ownership of ''Hamnavoe'' has changed in line with changes in the operator of NorthLink. Since 2018 the ferry has been registered to Caledonian Marine Assets Limited, and operated by Serco.

Service

''Hamnavoe'' was introduced on the

lifeline ferry service between Scrabster in Caithness and Stromness in Orkney in 2003. The voyage takes approximately 90 minutes and is made up to six times a day. Overnight accommodation is available on board in Stromness for passengers travelling on the 6.30am sailing. The route gives a superb view of the spectacular sea stack the

Old Man of Hoy The Old Man of Hoy is a sea stack on Hoy, part of the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. Formed from Old Red Sandstone, it is one of the tallest stacks in the United Kingdom. The Old Man is popular with climbers, and was first c ...

, and the tallest vertical cliff face in Britain, St Johns Head. New piers and walkways have been built at Scrabster and Stromness specifically for ''Hamnavoe'', and fitted with lifts to accommodate disabled passengers.

Volcanic ash cloud

In April 2010 as the

volcanic ash cloud Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer t ...

from Iceland closed much of Europe's airspace, ''Hamnavoe'' was taken off her normal route for three days and sent to

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

in Norway to rescue stranded British residents. More than 150 passengers took the 18-hour trip from Bergen to Aberdeen. On returning to her usual route, ''Hamnavoe'' made an unscheduled trip from Aberdeen to Stromness in Orkney carrying passengers.

Footnotes

External links

NorthLink Ferries - Official Website

Ships of Calmac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamnavoe NorthLink Ferries 2002 ships Ships built in Rauma, Finland