MV HJALTLAND
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Sailings cancelled for technical reasons
The saliling of the 'Hjaltland' on Feb 18, 2024, from Aberdeen to Lerwick has been cancelled, as well as on Feb 19. The ferry was due to depart Aberdeen for Kirkwall and Lerwick tomorrow at 5 p.m. for technical reasons. The Hjaltland‘s next sailing will be a northbound trip from Aberdeen in the night of Feb 20. The ferry had been due to return to service after having been drydocked in Rosyth since Feb 3. Customers who had been affected havee been contacted and were asked to rearrange their travel for a different day with the ferry operator Northlink.
Search for missing crew member suspended
Three lifeboats and a helicopter were scrambled to the North Sea after a man was reported missing from athe "Hjaltland" on June 27, 2018. The lifeboats at Peterhead and Aberdeen have been sent out again to resume the search this morning, joined by the Coastguard helicopter from Inverness. Mayday relay broadcasts were issued and a number of vessel in the area also joined the search. The UK Coastguard was informed of the incident just before 11 p.m. where a crew member on board the Aberdeen to Lerwick ferry could not be found. Lifeboat teams from Peterhead and Fraserburgh were sent to search the North Sea at 10.52 p.m., as well as Coastguard helicopter 951 from Inverness. The Aberdeen Lifeboat has joined the search. The search was suspended at 5.15 a.m. after nothing was found in the search area. The "Hjaltland" had left Aberdeen at 7 p.m. bound for Lerwick. The relevant authorities have been informed and ferry operator Serco was liaising with HM Coastguard and Police Scotland.
Passengers feared NorthLink ferry capsize
NORTHERN isles ferry operator Serco NorthLink has admitted a ship’s master lost control of a vessel for a few seconds, during which the ferry rolled so much that some of its 500 passengers thought the vessel was going to capsize. The ferry Hjaltland was on its way from Lerwick to Kirkwall on Wednesday night when the incident happened shortly after 9.30pm. Frightened passengers reported glass smashing in the bar and plates in the restaurant as the Hjaltland listed to port side, yet no one explained what happened during or after the boat journey. When approached by the media on Thursday, Serco NorthLink’s marine manager Captain Stuart McCallum said that there had been a “technical issue with the auto pilot” behind the event that lasted 14 seconds. \As a result the vessel was immediately switched to hand steering in what was described as “a professional response”. McCallum said that the ferry had been rolling at an average of nine degrees in moderate seas with the wind blowing at force 6 from the south. “A heavier than average roll was experienced at 21:38:42 recorded at 16 degrees, the cause of this additional roll was identified as a technical issue with the auto pilot control,” he said. “During the roll and subsequent course recovery hand steering was engaged and control established immediately, normal passage resuming at 21:38:56. http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/11180-passengers-feared-northlink-ferry-capsize
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