MV Pentalina
 MV Pentalina approaching Gills Bay
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Pentalina |
| Owner | Pentland Ferries |
| Port of registry | Kirkwall |
| Route | Gills Bay - St Margaret's Hope |
| Ordered | 2007 |
| Builder | FBMA Marine yard, Cebu, Philippines |
| Cost | est £10–15m[1] |
| Yard number | 1025 |
| Laid down | February 2007 |
| Launched | April 2008 |
| Maiden voyage | 6 February 2009 |
| In service | 30 March 2009 |
| Out of service |
|
| Homeport | Kirkwall |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Under Repair |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ferry |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 70 m (229 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 20 m (65 ft 7 in) |
| Draft | 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) (service) |
| Capacity | 247 passengers, 70 cars[1] |
MV Pentalina is a 70 m (230 ft) RoPax catamaran ferry purchased by Pentland Ferries in 2008 to operate between Gills Bay, Caithness and St Margaret's Hope, Orkney.
Layout[edit]
Pentalina was designed by the naval architects, Sea Transport Solutions of Australia. The catamaran form has a steel hull with aluminum superstructure.[2] She is designed to handle the rough seas off the north coast of Scotland.[1] Her overall length is 70 m (230 ft), with a beam of 20 m (66 ft).
Route[edit]
Pentalina replaced the ferry MV Claymore, crossing the Pentland Firth, between Gills Bay, Caithness and St Margaret's Hope, Orkney.[3] The journey time for the crossing on this vessel is one hour.[3]
Construction and career[edit]
Pentalina was built in Cebu, Philippines, starting in February 2007. She was ready to launch in April 2008, although there were delays in installing equipment. The 10,000-mile (16,000 km) journey from the Philippines to Scotland was delayed by bad weather, forcing a short detour to Salalah, Oman.[1] She arrived in St Margaret's Hope on 9 December 2008.[4]
There was discussions of her doing sailings from Gills Bay to Shetland.[5]
Pentland Ferries commissioned a larger catamaran, MV Alfred, to replace Pentalina on the St Margaret's Hope to Gill's Bay route, and the new vessel entered service on 1 November 2019. On 5 July 2022, Alfred ran aground on the island of Swona and Pentland Ferries confirmed that the port bulbous bow had sustained impact damage.[6] Pentalina returned to serve on the St Margaret's Hope - Gill's Bay route while Alfred was in dry dock in Belfast.[7] Alfred returned to service on 12 August 2022.[8]
2023 grounding[edit]
On 29 April 2023, Pentalina ran aground near St Margaret's Hope. Pentland Ferries stated that smoke was detected in the ship's engine room around 19:30 and she subsequently grounded. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution arrived at the incident, and 60 people were safely evacuated. It was described as a Major Incident by the RMT.[9] Pentalina was moved to her berth, about 90 m (300 ft) away, the next morning and was expected to be out of service for repairs until 21 May 2023.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Pentalina - Catamaran Ferry". ship-technology.com. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ "FBMA Marine Hull 1025 - Pentalina Launch". Aboitiz. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Welcome to Pentland Ferries". Pentland Ferries. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
- ^ "Pentalina arrives home". Orkney Today. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ McQuarrie, Andrew (10 February 2018). "Caithness ferry idea backed by isles businessman". The Shetland Times. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "MV ALFRED INCIDENT". Pentland Ferries. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Pentalina set to resume Pentland Ferries service". Orcadian. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "MV Alfred headed for home following damage repairs". Orcadian. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Orkney ferry runs aground after smoke in engine room". BBC News. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Pentland Ferries - MV Pentalina update". 7 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
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