MV ''Fivla'' is a

ro-ro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

passenger

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 ...

operated by the

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 ...

. She operates as the fleet relief vessel.

History

''Fivla'' was bought as the third of the second batch of new builds, the second of the same style, for the council since they took over the inter-island ferry services in the early 1970s. She is the second ship named ''Fivla'' built for the council, the first being the first of the first batch of inter-island ferries, operating from 1973 to 1982 for the council.

Layout

The ''Fivla'' has two lanes on her car deck. Like most SIC Ferries her size she has a passenger lounge located beneath the car deck.

Service

Entering service on 22 April 1985 on the Bluemull Sound service, taking over from the original MV ''Geira'', which was then sold out of the fleet. She operated alone on the

Gutcher Gutcher is a settlement on the northeast coast of Yell, Shetland, Yell in the Shetland islands. From here, rollon/roll off ferry services to Belmont, Shetland, Belmont on Unst and Hamars Ness on Fetlar operate. The settlement has a harbour, and a ...

Yell A yell is a loud vocalization; see screaming. Yell may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Yell, Shetland, one of the North Isles of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland * Yell Sound, Shetland, Scotland United States * Yell, Tennessee, an uni ...

- Belmont,

Unst Unst (; ) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Shetland Mainland, Mainland and Yell (island), Yell. It has an area o ...

- Oddsta,

Fetlar Fetlar is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Other settlements incl ...

service until 1988 when she was joined by MV ''Fylga.'' Once the two new Yell ferries were introduced in 2004, replaced ''Fylga'' on the service. This is the same year that the Fetlar terminal changed from Oddsta to Hamars Ness. Due to a vessel change, on 3 October 2005, ''Fivla'' was relegated to the fleet relief vessel, which she still operates as today. Each month she covers a different ro-ro ferry in the fleet so that they can go for their annual refit. She also covers any breakdowns that occur across the fleet. The only rest the ferry gets is when she goes for her own annual refit, normally on the Malakoff slip in

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 ...

. On 28 April 2010, while carrying out refit cover in

Yell Sound Yell Sound is the Sound running between Yell and Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It is the boundary between the Mainland and the North Isles, and it contains many small islands. Sullom Voe, on the shores of which is a substantial oil terminal, i ...

, she was trapped underneath the linkspan in Toft. This was due to four preventer chains on the linkspan snapping simultaneously from the low spring tides and the lower freeboard of the relief vessel. Due to this, during the following days (29 April and 4 May 2010), she operated a special service between

Vidlin Vidlin (from Old Norse: ''Vaðill'' meaning a ford) is a small village located on Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Nesting. History It is at the head of Vidlin Voe, and is the modern heart of the old parish ...

and

Ulsta Ulsta is a village in the south-west of the island of Yell, Shetland, Scotland. North Ness Hall is the local community facility. The car ferry to Toft on Mainland, Shetland The Mainland is the main island of Shetland, Scotland. The island ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fivla 1985 ships Transport in Shetland Ferries of Scotland