MV Hjaltland is a Northlink Ferries

Northlink Ferries

NorthLink Ferries operates daily ferry services between mainland Scotland and the northern archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland. NorthLink Ferries is a wholly owned subsidiary of David MacBrayne Ltd, whose sole shareholder is the Scottish Government.-History:...

 vehicle and passenger ferry based in Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

. She operates daily ferry services between mainland Scotland and the northern archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland.

History

MV Hjaltland and her sister ship, , were constructed in 2002 at Aker Finnyards in Finland.

In 2010, MV Hjaltland was docked in Aberdeen for 48 hours after 17 people on board developed a vomiting bug.

Layout

MV Hjaltland carries passengers, cars, freight and livestock. There are a choice of restaurants, bars and lounges, children's play area and a cinema. The restaurants and lounges have a total seating capacity of 600. The original 100 cabins had a total of 300 beds. All cabins are en-suite, most being two berth, with a number of four-berth cabins for families. In April 2007, an additional accommodation module was fitted in Birkenhead, increasing her capacity to 356 berths. The ship is fitted with lifts and was built to accommodate disabled passengers throughout. There are 10 officer and 27 crew cabins.

Each pair of diesel engines drives a controllable pitch propeller

Controllable pitch propeller

A controllable pitch propeller or variable pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change their pitch...

 through a gearbox. There are two rudders, two 900 kW bow thruster

Bow thruster

A bow thruster is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, the bow of a ship or boat to make it more maneuverable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow the captain to turn the vessel to port or starboard without using the main propulsion mechanism which requires...

s and Mitsubishi stabilisers.

Service

MV Hjaltland operates between Lerwick

Lerwick

Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...

 and Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, with a call at Kirkwall

Kirkwall

Kirkwall is the biggest town and capital of Orkney, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty...

 on some days. A walkway, built specifically for the current vessels, can take both foot and car passengers. She is also able to relieve on the Stromness

Stromness

Stromness is the second-biggest town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the south-west of Mainland Orkney. It is also a parish, with the town of Stromness as its capital.-Etymology:...

 to Scrabster crossing.

External links

• NorthLink Ferries - Official Website