Ferry services to and from Orkney face two more weeks of disruption after a vessel ran aground last month.

Pentland Ferries services between St Margaret’s Hope and Gills Bay on the mainland have been cancelled until 21 May.

MV Pentalina grounded near its berth on 29 April after smoke was detected in its engine room.

No one was injured in the incident, but 60 passengers had to be rescued from the 70m-long catamaran.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) are carrying out separate investigations into the incident.

In an update on Sunday, Pentland Ferries confirmed the probes remain ongoing.

In a statement, the private ferry operator said: “We regret that we are now cancelling all passenger bookings on the St Margaret’s Hope to Gills Bay route up to and including Sunday 21 May.

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“All booked passengers are being contacted directly. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience.

“We are doing all we can to minimise the disruption and will share any further updates as and when we can.”

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The MV Pentalina had only just returned to service to allow MV Alfred to help out on CalMac routes on the west coast of Scotland. However, MV Alfred’s nine-month charter is yet to begin due to delays.

Following the grounding, ferry operator NorthLink added an extra service to its Sunday timetable to cope with demand.

The additional return crossing between Stromness in Orkney and Scrabster on the mainland is set to continue until 25 June.

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