Serco NorthLink Ferries celebrates being the first ferry company in Scotland to achieve the prestigious Investors in People Silver Accreditation, the most successful framework for business improvement through people in the UK. Stuart Garrett, Serco's Managing Director of NorthLink Ferries, joined the team at NorthLink Ferries' Stromness call centre to celebrate the achievement.
Since the news came out in the John O'Groat Journal that Stage coach are to change bus services for Gills and John O'Groats protests have been getting louder. the proposed bus timetable changes from 20th August which effectively abolish the direct route from Wick to John o'Groats and Gills.
Gills Harbour Ltd, the community body that owns and runs Gills Harbour on Caithness's North Coast, has a new office-bearer. At its recent Annual General Meeting, Mr Mark Gibson of Northern View, John O'Groats KW1 4YS, was unanimously appointed as the body's Vice-Chairman.
-- Rolling dry dock period to commence late January with final vessel complete by 20 February--. -- MV Arrow secured on short term charter -- -- Alternative travel arrangements in place for MV Hamnavoe -- NorthLink Ferries has today (Thursday 21 December) published timetables confirming arrangements for the regular planned maintenance of its passenger vessels, with one vessel at a time due to be out of service between 22 January and 20 February.
OFFICIAL FIGURES SHOW MORE PEOPLE AND CARS SAILED ACROSS THE PENTLAND FIRTH FROM CAITHNESS TO ORKNEY IN 2016 FROM GILLS BAY THAN ON ANY OTHER ROUTE. Official figures recently published by Scottish Government 'spending watchdog' body Audit Scotland show that the so-called 'short sea-route' from Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope was the busiest seaway to Orkney across the Pentland Firth in 2016.
One of the contractors that has been operating in the Inner Sound for Atlantis RL's MeyGen site has been taken over by another, a much-larger one. See note on Insight Marine Services Ltd of Cornwall.
BMT Nigel Gee (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, has announced a new project to design an 85m steel-hulled catamaran RoPax ferry for Strategic Marine, a subsidiary of Triyards Holding Limited. The ferry is for Scottish ferry operator Pentland Ferries and BMT will be responsible for concept through to production design, working closely with Strategic Marine.
Notice of Annual General Meeting: On Tuesday 21.03.2017 @ 19.30. Gills Harbour Ltd: A Community- owned trading Company limited by guarantee.
NorthLink Ferries is set to open bookings for travel to and from the Northern Isles for next year from Saturday (1 October). Peter Hutchinson, customer service director at NorthLink Ferries, said: "NorthLink Ferries is happy to announce that bookings for 2017 are to be accepted from Saturday.
Jack-up barge Neptune arrives in the PF's Inner Sound early this afternoon 22.09.16. German tug Elbe, which will be working closely with the self-propelled JU, is already on site.
Update From Bill Mowatt. 'Notice to mariners': Installation of first tidal-stream turbine in the Pentland Firth's Inner Sound at Atlantis RL's MeyGen site c.
Regional airport operator HIAL has handled more passengers than ever, according to latest figures for the last financial year. The airport group, which operates 11 airports across Scotland, handled 1,437,625 passengers in 2015/16, up by more than 6000 on the previous year.
NorthLink Ferries, managed and operated by Serco on behalf of Transport Scotland, has scooped a national award at this year's Guardian and Observer Travel Awards. Held in Scotland's capital on Friday 3 March, the ferry operator was awarded the title of ‘Best Ferry' at the annual ceremony, which celebrates the best in travel and tourism services across the world.
-- Location Fee Donated to Local Charity NorthLink Ferries is set to make its debut in the BBCs successful Shetland series this month. Passenger ferry MV Hrossey will appear in the third series of the crime television programme, which stars Douglas Henshall as Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, due to air from Friday 15 January 2016.
NorthLink Ferries is set to bring a series of events on board its services in 2016 following a successful Year of Food and Drink in 2015. The events will continue the Scottish Governments celebration of food and drink from 2015 by showcasing local Orkney and Shetland producers throughout next year at a series of on board tastings.
NorthLink Ferries support of a new conservation initiative has proved successful, with five harbour porpoises, a striped dolphin and a pilot whale spotted in the first four months of the project by the ferry firms crew members. The sightings, identified while NorthLink Ferries crew members travelled between the mainland and the northern isles, feed into a wider survey conducted by the marine mammal conservation charity ORCA.
NorthLink Ferries has been named as the joint winner of a national award in recognition of the company's commitment to Fair Trade. The award was presented at the Scottish Fair Trade Awards to the Northern Isles ferry service for its partnership with Aberdeen Fairtrade Steering Group and Orkney Fair Trade Group.
Airport operator HIAL's strong run of growth in 2015 continued in the last quarter according to latest figures. In the third quarter (July to September), the group recorded an extra 12,522 passengers (up 3.1%) compared to the same period in 2014.
NorthLink Ferries is now accepting bookings for travel to and from Orkney and Shetland for next year. The ferry operator will continue with its current timetable and fares as well as cater for popular events by providing a temporary revised schedule when required.
On Friday 18th September 2015 the 24 metre-long rectangular steel multi-cat C-Chariot built in 2013 was to be seen loading a Data-fish buoy at Gills Harbour, Caithness. North Sea systems Ltd who own the Datafish describe it on their web site (http://www.northseasystems.com/) as follows - "DataFish is North Sea System's metocean survey buoy for unforgiving marine environments.
