SIX passengers injured when a Pentland Ferries ferry ran aground on an uninhabited island off the north coast of Scotland are seeking compensation.
MV Alfred, once described as the most environmentally friendly ferry in Scotland, had 84 passengers and 13 crew on board when on July 5, it partially ran aground on the Isle of Swona, the more northerly of two islands in the Pentland Firth between the Orkney Islands and Caithness on the Scottish mainland.
RNLI lifeboats were called to evacuate the Vietnam-built £14m catamaran – with one person being rushed to hospital with a fractured shoulder.
Dozens more are feared to have suffered mental trauma and physical injuries including fractures, sprains and soft tissue damage.
The Pentland Ferries vessel was freed from the rocks but not before some passengers were evacuated onto RNLI vessels.
The catamaran was initially taken out of service before another vessel was brought into service for the route.
After the incident a team of inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) carried out an investigation into the cirumstances.
Solicitor Digby Brown has now said it is representing six passengers who are seeking compensation amidst the Marine Accident Investigation Board’s (MAIB) formal investigation into the incident.
Mark Gibson, partner and head of the foreign and travel department at Digby Brown, said: “Any mode of travelling has its risks but there are clear procedures designed to keep people safe whether there be adverse conditions, mechanical issues or human error.
“For the passengers on board this must have been a shocking ordeal with the injuries and overall chaos impacting each person in a different way.
“The injuries we’re aware of so far relate to fractures, sprains and soft tissue damage but it’s possible there are injuries that are as yet unreported, including those who suffered psychiatric harm.
“Legal proceedings are at an early stage but we will continue to support and advise anyone affected by this significant collision.”
July’s Pentland Ferries grounding happened during the government’s maritime safety week event.
MV Alfred was carrying out a scheduled sailing between Gill’s Bay on the Scottish mainland and St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney when it hit the island at around 2pm.
An initial inspection revealed that the Alfred’s port bulbous bow had sustained impact damage when it made contact with the uninhabited island.
While the port bow was grounded, the remainder of the ship remained afloat. The ship was floated off unaided and made its way to St Margaret’s Hope under its own engine power.
Alfred went for repairs at a dry dock in Northern Ireland and returned to the route on August 5, after undergoing five weeks of repairs.
Some ferry users had said that Alfred, capable of carrying 430 passengers and 98 cars, was widely appreciated by Orcadians for its reliability in poor weather, and by the ferry company for its low running costs.
Dubbed the most environmentally-friendly ferry service of its kind in Scotland, it is said to burn one third of the fuel of an equivalent CalMac ferry with space for up to 430 passengers and 98 cars, or 54 cars and 12 articulated vehicles/coaches.
A shore-based wind turbine provides power when the vessel is docked overnight.
A Pentland Ferries spokesman said: "Pentland Ferries continues to co-operate fully with the MAIB's ongoing investigation and, as such, it would not be appropriate to make further comment at this time."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel