Pelagic vessels help make it busy week

LERWICK harbour has had a bustling week of activity with lots of landings at Shetland Catch and a number of vessels coming in for shelter from the stormy seas.

Three Danish trawlers came in to shelter last Wednesday, while the Maryanna berthed at Alexandra Wharf to land fish on Sunday.

British trawler the Forever Grateful made a fleeting visit on Sunday to drop off an injured crew member, while a sizeable number of boats from Scotland, Shetland and Ireland came in to land mackerel between Thursday and Tuesday.

Sea traffic in and out of the Greenhead Base has been brisk too, with a number of supply vessels coming and going, while the gales also brought a few of the bigger diving support vessels in for crew changes and supplies.

A Norwegian reefer, the 98m Silver Copenhagen, stopped off at Shetland Catch to pack up frozen fish before sailing for Klaipeda.

Pilot boat the Knab was kept busy with shuttle tankers the Petronordic and Petroatlantic, from the Foinaven field, undergoing crew changes while anchored just south of the harbour limits.

Finally, the week was also notable for the first ever visit to Shetland of the 77m Danish trawler Isafold, only built last year, which arrived to land mackerel on Sunday.