|
Over
100 years of P&O in the islands
|
| 1856 |
Locally-owned
steamer service starts from Stromness to Scrabster. |
| 1882 |
Service
taken over by North of Scotland Orkney and Shetland Steam Navigation
Company, using the St Olaf which operates the route until 1890. |
| 1883 |
First
St Rognvald joins the fleet. The current St Rognvald
is the fourth ship to bear the name. |
| 1887 |
The
company build the first St Sunniva for their Norwegian cruise
programme. |
| 1890/92 |
Several
vessels run the service across the Pentland Firth. |
| 1892 |
First
St Ola built at a cost of £11,000. She plied the Pentland Firth
route for 57 years. |
| 1951 |
North
of Scotland Orkney and Shetland Steam Navigation Company take delivery
of new 750 ton St Ola. Launched in March, 1951, at the Aberdeen
yard of Alexander Hall and Company it had a speed of 13 knots and
could take 20 cars and 360 passengers. At 178 feet long, she was powered
by diesel and the change from steam to diesel saw the company drop
the name "Steam Navigation." |
| 1971 |
P&O
became the parent company of the North of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland
Shipping Company. P&O also announced the building of a new £1.4 million
roll-on, roll-off ferry for the Pentland Firth Service. |
| 1975 |
Third
St Ola, a 230 feet, 1,344 ton ship, with a capacity of 400
passengers and 85 cars replaced previous St Ola. She was the
first ro-ro ferry to serve Orkney. |
| 1977 |
Roll-on
roll-off ferry St Clair becomes the first of the new generation
of ships to be introduced for Shetland. |
| 1987 |
P&O
mark their 150th anniversary with new St Sunniva linking Orkney
with Aberdeen and Shetland. Two previous north ships had carried the
name St Sunniva. One ran aground off Shetland and the other
was sunk during World War Two. |
| 1989 |
In
January, the company change their name to P&O Scottish Ferries. |
| 1991 |
P&O
spend £9 million on buying the former Baltic ferry Eckeroe
which would become the last St Ola. |
| 2002 |
On
October 1, P&O Scottish Ferries bow out as new operators NorthLink
Ferries enter the scene. |
