An 'old friend' returns to Gills Bay after an absence of manymonths.
The 2,400 tonne 70 m. long ferry MV Pentalina moves stern-first towards the link-span berth at Gills Harbour on Sunday 16th August.
Meanwhile her newer, larger replacement vessel MV Alfred (85 metres) departs Gills on her thrice-daily crossing of the Pentland Firth's ancient Short Sea Route to St Margaret's Hope in Orkney, an hour's sail away.
The Pentalina was the regular ship on the the most popular trans-Pentland route until she as replaced by Alfred on November 1st 2019.
Both vessels are owned and operated by family company Pentland Ferries Ltd, with its h.q. at the South Ronaldsay village, headed by its MD sea-transport innovator & entrepreneur Mr Andrew Banks.
A large quantity of cabling and heavy mobile plant was loaded on to Pentalina at mainland Scotland's most Northern ferry port en route for Lyness on the Isle of Hoy, Orkney. Lyness was the major RN shore base for Scapa Flow in WWII and its deep-water so-called Golden Wharf was purpose-build so that temporary repairs could be done to any RN warships that could have been been damaged by enemy action.
Onlooker at Gills stated the the cargo was equipment needed for the on-land section of the new £30 million replacement sub-sea cable that Scottish and Southern Energy Networks is currently having laid between Rackwick Bay in North Hoy, and Murkle Bay near Castltown, Caithness.
