Pentland Ferries have suspended services to Orkney for at least two weeks while the investigation into the grounding of MV Pentalina continues.
The firm say bookings to and from St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney to Gills Bay in Caithness have been cancelled until May 21.
Emergency services received a mayday call on Saturday, April 29, when smoke was detected in the engine room of Pentalina before she became grounded off 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. No one was injured. It was later refloated and moored at a nearby pier.
The incident happened just three days after the vessel returned to service in the Pentland Firth.
Pentland Ferries say two separate investigations by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency(MCA) and Marine Accident Investigation Branch are currently "ongoing".
One of the passengers who witnessed the incident on May 29 described to the Record how crews yelled at passengers to hang on to railings as the ferry approached the shore.
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.
He said: "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."
Passengers were then transported to the shore by RBLI crews.
A statement from Pentland Ferries said: "We are grateful for the many expressions of concern and support following the grounding of MV Pentalina last Saturday (29 April). On the back of these, we would like to confirm that MCA and MAIB investigations are still ongoing.
"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. 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."
MCA have said initial reports into the incident suggest that the grounding was due to a "sudden mechanical failure".
An MCA spokesperson said: “The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, in conjunction with the vessel’s classification society, completed surveys on the vessel Pentalina on April 18 and issued a passenger ship safety certificate; at this time the vessel met the standards required for issue of this certificate.
"Surveyors from the MCA will be attending the vessel today (Sunday) in St Margaret’s Hope to undertake initial fact-finding to establish the cause and circumstances surrounding the incident which occurred on the evening of April 29.
“While the facts haven’t been established yet, initial reports from the operator point to the cause of the grounding being a sudden mechanical failure.”
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