News and Updates

We would like to remind our customers, the sailing to North Ronaldsay this weekend will sail on Friday 24th due to the timetable change made for the Westray Regatta on Saturday the 25th July.

Gather for this sailing will take place on Thursday between 08:00 and 12:00, and the time of departure will be confirmed on Thursday afternoon.

Our morning sailings to Eday, Sanday and Stronsay on Friday will be combined to a 3-isle service at the following times:

Depart Kirkwall: 07:00

Arrive Stronsay: 08:40

Depart Stronsay: 08:50

Arrive Sanday: 09:25

Depart Sanday: 09:35

Arrive Eday: 09:55

Depart Eday: 10:05

Arrive Kirkwall: 11:20

We would like to remind our North Isles customers of changes to our timetables on Saturday 25th July for the Westray Regatta.

There are changes to all our North Isles timetables as well as changes made to our Papa Westray to Pierowall sailings.

Please see our Sailings for Special Events | Orkney Ferries page for full information regarding timetable changes and additions.

Bookings must be made and paid for in advance for these sailings to ensure a confirmed space onboard.

We would like to remind our customers of the additional sailing added to our timetable on Saturday 25th July for Stromness Shopping Week.

The additional sailing leaves Stromness for Graemsay and Moaness at 23:00 alongside our standard Saturday departures.

Bookings must be made and paid for in advance for these sailings to ensure a confirmed space onboard.

Please see our Sailings for Special Events | Orkney Ferries page for full information regarding timetable additions.

We would like to advise that the M.V. Toplander will be providing additional cargo sailings to Papa Westray on Wednesdays and North Ronaldsay on Thursdays throughout the summer timetable.

Sailings are on demand only and the timings for these services are dependent on weather and tidal conditions and will be published the day before departure.

Gather times for these sailings will be the same time as the normal gather time on a Tuesday between 08:00 and 10:00.

Vehicles must be booked by contacting our Kirkwall office on 01856 872044.

Please note that the MV Toplander will depart for refit on 29^th June, therefore there will be no additional sailings from the 1^st – 9^th July inclusive.

We would like to advise customers that we have scheduled an additional late passenger service on the Nordic Sea to allow visiting judges to attend the Sanday Show evening meal.

The service will sail at the following times:

Depart Kirkwall – 19:00

Arrive Sanday – 20:25

Depart Sanday – 20:30

Arrive Kirkwall – 21:55

This sailing is available to book at orkneyferries.co.uk and through our office on 01856 872044.

Please note that due to crew hours of rest, the 06:15 Nordic Sea service to Eday, Sanday and Stronsay on Saturday 1^st August has been cancelled.

Passengers should instead use the scheduled North Isles services, which are unaffected.

We are pleased to be able to offer five late Saturday sailings over the summer period for Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre.

These are scheduled for 9^th May, 13^th June, 11^th July, 8^th August and 12^th September

Sailing times are as follows:

Depart Rousay 22:00

Depart Tingwall 22:35

Depart Rousay 23:10

Depart Wyre 23:20

Depart Egilsay 23:40

Arrive Rousay 23:55

Bookings can be made online, in person or by calling our offices.

These sailings are on request and must be booked and paid by 15:00 on the day of the departure or the service will not operate.

Due to a failure of one of the bow thrusters on board the Hoy Head identified during annual refit, the vessel will continue in service with some restricted operability in certain prevailing weather conditions with a single bow thruster in operation as it has done over the last few weeks.

This will unfortunately continue to have an impact on some sailings that may have been possible otherwise with both bow thrusters operable.

Considering the long lead time for replacement parts which are now on order and scheduled to be delivered to us in around 10-12 weeks, we considered that it was better to have the vessel return to service operating on the Hoy route throughout the busy spring and summer period albeit with the potential of some increased disruption due to the restrictions outlined above.

We plan to operate the vessel throughout the summer period on the scheduled service until such time that we have taken delivery of the required parts to complete the repair. When the repair to the Hoy Head is being completed and the vessel is out of service the MV Thorsvoe will return to cover as relief vessel on the route.

If there is any potential improvement to the timescales for the delivery of parts and the completion of the repair, we will share this information in due course. We apologise in advance to our customers for any inconvenience that will be caused because of this over the summer period and thank you for your patience in this matter.

Orkney Ferries offers customers a way to receive disruption and cancellation messages to a smart phone or computer via Telegram.

Telegram is a free and simple messaging app with a focus on speed and security.

You can use Telegram on smartphones, tablets, and even computers. It’s very easy to use and only requires a name and mobile phone number to create an account.

To receive updates from please download the Telegram app from your app store, set up your account and then return to this page and select our unique link, which you can access by clicking here - Orkney Ferries Telegram Channel

Once on the channel you will be messaged with any updates on disruptions or cancellations in real time.

- Please note, Telegram is an internationally used social media site/app meaning users may be suspect to receiving spam messages from unknown accounts. When creating a profile to join our channel, be sure to set your Privacy and Security settings to limit Invites and Forwarded Messages.