Hoy-Head

The "Hoy Head" has been taken out of service after being damaged while tied up at Longhope Pier during the storm from Jan 9 to 10, 2016. The vessel has been taken to Stromness for an inspection to be carried out, and the replacement vessel "Thorsvoe" has been taken into service on the South Isles route. The damage and repair options were being assessed, but the indications so far were that the "Hoy Head" will require to go south to a shipyard for repairs to be carried out. Report with photo: http://www.orcadian.co.uk/2016/01/damaged-ferry-taken-out-of-service/

The Longhope RNLI lifeboat was called out in the morning of Aug 30, 2015, after the "Hoy Head" broke down shortly after leaving Longhope Pier. The lifeboat crew was paged just before 9 a.m. after the ferry suffered a mechanical breakdown. The ferry dropped anchor and the lifeboat was requested to stand by as a precautionary measure. Once the mechanical problem was rectified and the ship was able to get back underway, it was escorted out of Longhope Bay by the lifeboat, which then returned to station and was back ready for service by 10.20 a.m. Reports with photos: http://rnli.org/NewsCentre/Pages/RNLI-Longhope-lifeboat-requested-to-stand-by-ferry.aspx http://www.orcadian.co.uk/2015/08/longhope-lifeboat-requested-to-stand-by-ferry/

On Sep 30, 2013, the "Hoy Head" jointly with the Longhope Lifeboat was directed to go to the aid of a fishing boat which was taking in water east of Flotta. The Shetland Coastguard was alerted by the local scallop dive boat "Fair Fortune" at around 2.30 p.m. The vessel, with two people onboard, was taking in water and was without steering, east of Flotta. The ferry, which had just left Flotta at that time, headed for the scene, as well as the lifeboat. The ferry was stood down as the lifeboat crew had taken the vessel under tow, and the ingress of water had been stopped.