''Good Shepherd IV'' is a Scottish

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

, connecting

Fair Isle Fair Isle ( ; ), sometimes Fairisle, is the southernmost Shetland island, situated roughly from the Shetland Mainland and about from North Ronaldsay (the most northerly island of Orkney). The entire archipelago lies off the northernmost coa ...

Shetland Mainland The Mainland is the main island of Shetland, Scotland. The island contains Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick, and is the centre of Shetland's ferry and air connections. Geography It has an area of , making it the third-largest Scottish island and ...

. It is owned and operated by

SIC Ferries Shetland Islands Council Ferries (often named SIC Ferries) is a company operating inter-island ferry services in Shetland, a subarctic archipelago off the northeast coast of Scotland. The company operates services across 10 of the Shetland island ...

History

The ship, built in

St Monans St Monans (, ), sometimes spelt St Monance, is a village and parish in the East Neuk of Fife and is named after the legendary Saint Monan. Situated approximately west of Anstruther, the small community, whose inhabitants used to make their liv ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, has been in service since 1986 and is operated by the

Shetland Islands Council The Shetland Islands Council is the local authority for the Shetland Islands, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local gov ...

MV Good Shepherd IV passing Sumburgh Head - geograph

The previous ferry on this route, ''Good Shepherd III'', was a former inshore trawler, owned by the islanders since 1972.

Service

The ferry carries up to 12 passengers and one car. There are sailings three times a week from

Grutness Grutness is a small settlement and headland at the southern tip of the main island of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Dunrossness. It is located close to Sumburgh Head and is the terminus of the ferry servi ...

Pier near

Sumburgh Head Sumburgh Head is a headland located at the southern tip of the main island of the Shetland Archipelago, in northern Scotland. The head consists of a 100 m high rocky spur and topped by the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse. In the Old Norse langua ...

in summer and one per week in winter. In the summer only, there are fortnightly sailings to

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

, the capital of Shetland.

Replacement Ferry

A news report in September 2020 indicated that some members of Council believed that the 31-year-old ''Good Shepherd IV'' was due for replacement but that Holyrood had not authorized that expenditure. Councillor Allison Duncan was quoted as saying, "I think it's despicable that they can't at least look after one of our remote islands by giving them the boat that they justly deserve." In January 2023, £26.7 million was awarded by the UK Government, as part of the ' levelling up' fund, to the Shetland Islands Council for the purchase of a new ro-ro ferry for

and new terminals at both the

and

ports, including linkspans. The new ferry is expected to be similar to the MV ''Snolda'', with 25m length and capacity for about 4 cars and a crane. The work is due to be completed by April 2026.

References

Ferries of Scotland Transport in Shetland 1986 ships 1986 in Scotland Fair Isle {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Shepherd Iv