Northlink Ferries to Orkney and Shetland
NorthLink Ferries operate overnight sailings from the port of Aberdeen to Lerwick in Shetland (taking 12.5 hours), with four of these sailings a week going via Orkney's capital, Kirkwall (total journey time 14.5 hours).
Northlink Ferries' extensive timetables make traveling to the islands Orkney and Shetland even more convenient than ever.
NorthLink Ferries have designed and built their ferries, the MV Hjaltland,MV Hrossey and MV Hamnavoe, to the highest standards in terms of both safety and comfort. |
 |
The NorthLink a la carte and self service restaurants offer a wide range of menus featuring local produce. Each ferry also provides spacious lounge areas, bars, children's play areas, shopping opportunities, and well-appointed, air-conditioned en-suite cabins. A modern cinema showing the latest releases is available on the longer ferry routes.
Northlink Ferries History
The subsidised Northern Isles ferry services, previously run by P&O Scottish Ferries were put out to tender in 1999. A joint venture between Caledonian MacBrayne and the Royal Bank of Scotland named Northlink Orkney and Shetland Ferries won the service from 2002. Its ambitious plans ran into difficulties, and the service was re-tendered while Northlink ran under interim arrangements. By the closing date, bids were received from V-Ships UK Ltd, and from Caledonian MacBrayne, which put in the lower bid and won the tender. Caledonian MacBrayne formed a company named NorthLink Ferries Limited which began operating the Northern Isles ferry services on 6 July 2006. |
