Corruputed computer controls has Whalsay without its Linga ferry
Whalsay Island is to be without its main ferry for the next two or three weeks after its computer control system which monitor the diesel electric engine’s propulsion system and play a key role in the ship’s operation broke down last weekend. 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 need to have up to two weeks of sea trials before being put back in service.
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.”
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.
He pointed out that when commuters leave their cars at Laxo, the council loses in the long run because they are not getting the revenue back.
Source: http://www.shetlandmarine.com