One of the people onboard a ferry which ran aground near Orkney has described the moment the vessel came into trouble. Gary Brown said crews yelled at passengers to hang on to railings as the ferry approached the shore.
RNLI crews went to the scene after the MV Pentalina issued a Mayday broadcast off Orkney on Saturday evening. Pentland Ferries said smoke was detected in the engine room before the vessel became grounded at the village of St Margaret's Hope.
Sixty passengers, including three children and an infant, were evacuated from the ferry, as well as some of the crew.
Gary, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, was travelling with his pregnant partner Lauren Haston as they made their way to Orkney for a holiday.
The couple witnessed smoke pouring out from the engine room and noticed staff responding to the emergency situation when they had gone to the sundeck to get some fresh air.
Gary told the Record: "We saw smoke lingering in the air around the ferry so we walked over to the helm to see what was going on.
"We could then hear alarms going off and the crew members were rushing around trying to sort something.
"We were shocked to see steam pouring from the engine room. We weren't being told anything over the tannoy system yet.
"A staff member then yelled numerous times to everyone on the sundeck to hold on to the railings. About 30 seconds to a minute later the ferry gently stopped about 100 yards short of our destination."
Gary and Laura then made their way to the lounge where they were told to keep to the right side of the ferry - the opposite side to the engineering room. Nervous passengers waited to hear what had happened.
"I was trying to stay calm for Lauren's sake and make light of the situation," Gary added. "Once we were all gathered into the lounge we still hadn't heard anything. Staff handed out bottles of water to everyone.
"Eventually another staff member came into the lounge and announced that we could collect stuff from our cars if we wanted and to come straight back to the lounge. I collected mine and Lauren's cases and when I got back to the lounge I was surprised to see life jackets getting handed out to everyone.
"It wasn't panicked but you could see everyone was nervous and anxious and staff assured us everything was under control."
Staff then told passengers there were boats which would take them ashore but they had to leave their luggage. Everyone was taken down to the car deck on single file where a hatch was lowered to allow them to get onto lifeboats.
Emergency services were waiting on standby when they got to shore and buses then took everyone to the village hall where they were given tea and shortbread before being briefed on the situation.
Gary says he doesn't know if they will be able to get back to the mainland when they depart Orkney next Saturday.
He added: "We got a lift to our accommodation from a relative. We received a phone call this morning at half 9 to say the car was ready for collection and that if we got a taxi they would reimburse the cost.
"We haven't heard anything else yet about how we get back on Saturday, if another ferry will be available or this one is repaired."
The Pentalia only returned to service earlier this week to allow another ferry, MV Alfred, to service CalMac routes on the west coast.
A spokesman from the Coastguard said: “The MV Pentalina was refloated at approximately 5.30am today after a tow was established by a tug whose services were acquired by Pentland Ferries.
“The Pentalina was brought alongside its berth in St Margaret’s Hope a short while later. HM Coastguard’s Emergency Towing Vessel MV Ievoli Black observed the operation, alongside counter-pollution officers, and reported that there were no signs of pollution.
“The vessel will be surveyed later today to establish the extent of any damage while the harbour master will continue to monitor for pollution. MAIB (Marine Accident Investigation Branch) has also been informed.”
A statement from Pentland Ferries added: "All passengers that were onboard MV Pentalina tonight are safe and are either at home or at their accommodation.
"Our customer services team are contacting all customers that are due to travel. Further updates will follow."
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