Pete Bevington

27 June, 2008

THE ISLAND of Whalsay is to be without its main ferry for the next two or three weeks after its computer control system broke down last weekend, council officials said yesterday (Thursday).

The 36 metre Linga has been fraught with technical problems since it first arrived from the Gdansk shipyard in 2002, and now must have three computers replaced after the originals had their hard discs corrupted.

Shetland Islands Council ferries officer Alistair Christie-Henry said engineers from Rolls Royce in Norway had promised to deliver the computers next Friday, but they would need to have up to two weeks of sea trials before being put back in service.

The computers monitor the diesel electric engine’s propulsion system and play a key role in the ship’s operation.

The council has determined never to purchase such computer controlled vessels again to avoid the problems which have beset the Linga over the past six years.

“The ship has had its other problems cured,” Mr Christie-Henry said. “What we have to do now is make sure the new computers are configured with the software that has cured the other problems, hence the trials.”

Yesterday the council was able to bring the back-up ferry Thora onto the Whalsay route to help the Hendra which has been serving Whalsay single handed since Sunday

The Thora was freed up when the Geira was brought back into service on the Bluemull Sound after suffering problems with her rudder.

Last night Whalsay community council vice chairman David Hughson, who commutes to work at Sullom Voe oil terminal every day, said islanders were getting around their transport problems by leaving their cars on the mainland.

“When commuters leave their cars at Laxo then it’s the council which loses in the long run because they are not getting the revenue back. There is certainly a lot of inconvenience though, especially when you see bathtubs like the Thora back on the run,” Mr Hughson said.