Dark Island now on board Scottish ferries

February 26, 2008: Orkney Brewery's flagship Dark Island ale is being welcomed aboard the Northlink passenger fleet.

For the past eight months the award-winning brew has been served in the bar on Northlink Ferries' MV Hamnavoe, which services the Pentland Firth route between Orkney and Scrabster on the Scottish mainland.

Now kegs of Dark Island — recently voted Champion Winter Beer of Scotland — will also be supplied to Northlink's two other passenger vessels, MV Hjaltland and MV Hrossey, which operate routes between Aberdeen, Shetland and Orkney.

Norman Sinclair, managing director of Sinclair Breweries Ltd — operators of the Orkney Brewery — said: "Dark Island has proved extremely popular on board Hamnavoe, so we are delighted to be building on that success with this new contract to supply the bars across the entire Northlink passenger ferry fleet.

"We're very proud of Dark Island and having it on board the vessels will not only raise the profile of the Orkney Brewery but will do much to strengthen the reputation of the Northern Isles for high quality food and drink. It's fitting that a local brew should be available to passengers, particularly tourists, as it gives them a taste of what they can expect to find here."

Northlink's fleet hotel operations manager, Peter Hutchinson, added: "We're committed to showcasing the world class produce available from the Northern Isles. Wherever we can we will always stock produce from Orkney and Shetland on board our vessels.

"Our Islands Fayre campaign, officially introduced last year and centred on our restaurants, has gone down extremely well with passengers and we're delighted to be able to extend this visible commitment to the Northern Isles to our bars."