Gry-Maritha

Repairs to the 'Gry Maritha' hat supplies the Isles of Scilly will take at least eight weeks. The windlass, or winch, which winds the anchor and tightens moorings was damaged at St Mary's harbour in heavy winds on Dec 12. The ship will still be able to operate but only when winds are below force five on the Beaufort scale, which is categorised as a fresh breeze. Operators the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group (ISSG) said it would be using additional landing craft, planes and the passenger ferry Scillonian III to maintain supplies of fresh food to islanders. Technical teams have been exploring options to repair the windlass, but replacement parts were no longer available due to the age of the vessel. As a result the decision was tale to machine a new shaft- Work started on this before Christmas.

The 'Gry Maritha' was damaged while alongside in St Mary's and had to sail back to Penzance without its cargo being discharged on Dec 12, 2025. Tonnes of fresh food and drink had to be airlifted to the Isles of Scilly. The 'Gry Maritha' left Penzance on the evening of Dec 12, as scheduled, and arrived in St Mary's later that evening. However, while alongside, the vessel experienced higher-than-forecast conditions, which resulted in damage to the forward windlass and windlass shaft of the vessel, which had to sail back to Penzance without discharging its cargo. The operator Isles of Scilly Freight thanked the Lands End and St Mary's airports, which extended their flying hours, while SkyBus operated an additional six freight flights, which carried more than four tonnes of supplies in total.

The 'Gry Maritha', en route from Penzance to St Marys with 55 people on board, suffered a failure of its starboard engine 7.5 miles from St. Martins Head in position 50 00 14.4 N, 006 06 40.2 W on Oct 29, 2019, at 2.10 p.m. About 30 minutes later, reportedly, the problem was fixed, and the engine was working again.

On Jan 7 the "Gry Maritha" returned back on duty after hitting a rock on the approach to the islands last week. The "Gry Maritha" had been undergoing minor repairs at Penzance Dry Dock after having hit the Crow Rock, around half a mile off St Mary's, while en route from Penzance to the islands. After the damage was assessed the "Gry Maritha" was permitted to return to the mainland for repairs. Due to adverse weather conditions the freighter's scheduled departure on Jan 6 from Penzance to St Mary's had to be put back by 24 hours. There had been concerns about the condition of the surface of St Mary's quay, which had been ravaged by the storms of the past few days. The "Gry Maritha" returned to the islands at lunchtime on where the condition of the quay dictated a departure from normal working procedures. Report with photo: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Supply-ship-operating-collision/story-20414698-detail/story.html#ixzz2ptR7fIA9

The "Gry Maritha" on its way to St Mary's hit Crow Rock on Dec 30, 2013, at 6.15 p.m. The ship which had sailed from Penzance returned to the mainland under its own power. The alarm was raised by a crewman who called the RNLI and a full investigation has been launched. The master of the vessel was breathalysed by police but the test was negative. The St Mary's harbour master inspected the vessel but found no visible damage. It was necessary to carry out a full inspection in a dry dock at Penzance and had been scheduled for Jan 2. The extent of any damage would be confirmed and it was envisaged that minor hull repairs may be required The company was working on contingency plans to enable some essential supplies to be flown to the islands on its Skybus service instead, weather permitting.