Favourable wind and tide allow largest cruise liner alongside in Lerwick

The biggest cruise ship ever to berth alongside in Lerwick, P&O’s 45,000-ton Artemis, was at Holmsgarth on Saturday thanks to favourable tides and wind.

At 230m long and 32m wide, she had been due to anchor offshore, with her 1,200 passengers and some of her 540 crew taken ashore in tenders.

But while the wet weather was doubtless disappointing for the visitors, the accompanying light wind and high tide did allow the huge ship to tie up for most of the day.

Artemis, whose 594 cabins all have large picture windows, left in the evening for Torshavn. She is due to visit Iceland and Norway before returing home to Southampton at the end of the month.

A spokeswoman for P&O said: “She was built in 1984 and was one of the most innovative ships of her time, being the first cruise ship to feature all outside cabins.

“She joined the P&O Cruises fleet in June 2005, being named by Prunella Scales in a ceremony in Southampton.”