MV Hjaltland

MV Hjaltland is a NorthLink Ferries vehicle and passenger ferry based in Aberdeen. She operates daily ferry services between mainland Scotland and the northern archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland.

MV Hjaltland in Aberdeen, 2015
History
United Kingdom
Name: MV Hjaltland
Namesake: Old Norse name for Shetland[1]
Owner:
  • 2002-2004: NorthLink Orkney & Shetland Ferries Limited
  • 2004-2012: RBS - RBSSAF (20) Limited
  • 2012-2018: previous owner renamed Northern Isles Ferries Limited
  • from 2018-present Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited
Operator: NorthLink Ferries
Port of registry: Lerwick, United Kingdom
Route: Aberdeen to Lerwick via Kirkwall
Builder: Aker Finnyards in Rauma, Finland
Cost: £35 million
Yard number: NB438
Laid down: 4 October 2001
In service: 1 October 2002[1]
Identification:
Status: in service
General characteristics
Class and type: +100 A 1, Ro-Ro Cargo/Passenger Ferry + LMC, UMS, LI, NAV1[4]
Tonnage:
  • 11,720 GT;
  • 1,831 t DWT
Displacement: 7,434 tonnes
Length: 125 m (410 ft)[1]
Beam: 20 m (66 ft)
Draught: 5.4 m (18 ft)
Decks: 8
Installed power: 4 x MAK 6M43 5400 kW each
Propulsion: 2 CP propellers and 2 bow thrusters
Speed: 24 kn (44 km/h)
Capacity:
  • 600 passengers (117 cabins);
  • 140 cars (650m)[1]
Crew: 33

History

MV Hjaltland and her sister ship, MV Hrossey, were constructed in 2002 at Aker Finnyards in Finland.[1]

Layout

MV Hjaltland carries passengers, cars, freight and livestock. There are a choice of restaurants, bars and lounges, children's play area and a cinema. The restaurants and lounges have a total seating capacity of 600. The original 100 cabins had a total of 300 beds.[5] All cabins are en-suite, most being two berth, with a number of four-berth cabins for families.[6] In April 2007, an additional accommodation module was fitted in Birkenhead, increasing her capacity to 356 berths.[7] The ship is fitted with lifts and was built to accommodate disabled passengers throughout. There are 10 officer and 28 crew cabins.

Each pair of diesel engines drives a controllable-pitch propeller through a gearbox. There are two rudders, two 900 kW bow thrusters and two Mitsubishi stabilisers.[1][4]

Service

MV Hjaltland operates between Lerwick and Aberdeen, with a call at Kirkwall on some days. A walkway, built specifically for the current vessels, can take both foot and car passengers. She is also able to relieve on the Stromness to Scrabster crossing.

Incidents and accidents

In August 2012, a man died after falling overboard into the North Sea about 20 miles (30 kilometres) north of Fraserburgh.[8]

On 23 August 2013, MV Hjaltland was diverted from its normal route to assist with search and rescue efforts following the crash of a Super Puma helicopter 2 mi (3 km) off the Shetland coast close to Sumburgh.[9] The ferry was later used to transport the bodies of three of the crash victims to Aberdeen.[10]

On 9 September 2013, a passenger went missing from the boat during a sailing from Lerwick to Aberdeen. No body was ever recovered despite a major air and sea search.[11][12]

Footnotes
  1. "Hjaltland (IMO: 9244958)". Vessel Tracker. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. "Hjaltland". Marine Traffic. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  3. "Passenger Ro-Ro Ferries for NorthLink" (PDF). STX Europe. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  4. "Hjaltland". STX Europe. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  5. "Travel to, from and around the isles". The Shetland Times. 21 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  6. "Hjaltland at Birkenhead". Irish Sea Shipping. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  7. "Man dies after fall from Northern Isles ferry Hjaltland". BBC News. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  8. "Helicopter Crashes Into Sea Off Shetland". Sky News. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  9. "Bodies of oil workers who died in North Sea helicopter crash returned to mainland". Telegraph. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  10. Search for passenger, 22, overboard from Hjaltland stood down https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-24014383
  11. "Grieving Saltcoats mum devastated after memorial bench vandalised". Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald.
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