Shapinsay Out of Hours Ferry Service

14/10/2026

Due to weather conditions, tonight's sailing has been cancelled (14/10/26)

23/09/2026

Good morning all! We have some upcoming changes to our booking system - this will be changed over slowly, with the plan for a full changeover by October 1st.

First of all - The Public calendar will no longer have initials on it, it will have the times of each sailing and the number of spaces still available that day. (i.e KWL-SHAP 9pm 12 available)

At the time of booking, you will be asked to provide number of passengers and their age (ie adult, under 18 or under 12)

When you arrive on the boat, please give the crew your name so they can check you off of their list.

The boat crew always have a list of all passengers travelling, if you are not booked, that is fine, just let them know that when you get onboard.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we make these changes, this will hopefully make things easier for the booking clerk and the crew and hopefully make sure nobody gets left behind!

09/07/2026

Back to the Northerly Venture this week so we're back to the steps for a wee while again!

I've tried to show you where the steps are that the boat will leave from, I've marked the cornslip and put a yellow arrow from the cornslip to the steps to help you find your way!

29/06/2026

🚣‍♀️🛥️🚖🚤From Wednesday the 1st of July for a week to 10 days the C-SPARTAN (pictured) will be the boat to look out for on our nightly runs and it will be back to leaving from the Corn Slip.

There have been a couple of small delays in Northerly Marine Services new vessel coming into service, so they are doing their best to run their business and also provide us with a service, without their full fleet, so while it does mean a few chop and changes here and there, we are very grateful that they are doing their best to find workarounds to provide continuity, and hopefully it's not causing too much disruption to passengers! Thank you for your understanding 🛳️⛴️🚢🚍🌊

19/06/2026

It's back to the Northerly Venture tonight so it's back down here again for the next 2 weeks!

I've tried to show you where the steps are that the boat will leave from, I've marked the cornslip and put a yellow arrow from the cornslip to the steps to help you find your way!

20/05/2026

I've tried to show you where the steps are that the boat will leave from, I've marked the cornslip and put a yellow arrow from the cornslip to the steps to help you find your way!

20/05/2026

Good morning! A peedie heads up that there will be some changes in the coming weeks.

Northerly Marine Services have sold the Nigg Bay and she's off to her new home tomorrow!

The Northerly Venture will take over her post temporarily from the 21st of May, or they may use other boats if the NV is not available, but we will keep you up to date as much as possible!

I've included a photo so you know what boat to look for - the other issue she's got a deeper draught meaning that in most cases, she can't come into the Corn slip, so she will be at the steps at the other side of the pier - I will post a pin in a map when I know which steps, but it will be down toward the north isles pier and not at the slip!

04/05/2026

Notice of Fare increase from the 18th of May
https://shapinsay.org.uk/transport/out-of-hours-ferry/

Due to rising running costs, we will be implementing a small increase to our fares.

Adult fares will increase from £10 to £11
Under 18 fares will increase from £3 to £3.50
We have worked to keep this adjustment as minimal as possible while ensuring we can continue to operate the service in a sustainable way.

Thank you for your understanding.

Notice of Price Increase from the 18th of May Due to rising running costs, we will be implementing a small increase to our fares. We have worked to keep this adjustment as minimal as possible while…