Orkney Boat Charter About Us

Orkney Boat Charter is a division of "Explorer Fast Sea Charters"

Explorer FastSea Charters was set up in 2003 to service the needs for a fully licensed & insured charter vessel in the North Isles area of Orkney. We then expanded into the tourism market offering wildlife & coastal tours around Orkneys beautiful coastline with its abundant wildlife. There was also a demand for facilities to land on uninhabited islands allowing people to explore the unique wildlife & tranquillity of these magnificent places.

In 2008 with the continued expansion of offshore renewables it was decided to form “Orkney Boat Charter” which is the commercial division of “Explorer Fast Sea Charters”. Orkney Boat Charter now services the growing offshore industry around Orkney & Scotland. Although based in Orkney we are able to offer services anywhere within Scotland & the UK. Current contracts involve working as far south as the Beatrice field located off the east coast of Caithness.

Being a small family business we are able to offer tailor made packages to suit our client’s particular requirements. Hire rates start from as low as £50.00 per hour for a vessel & crew (excluding fuel), but each contract is quoted individually depending on its location & specific requirements.

Orkney Boat Charter has vast experience in various fields. We are currently registered boatmen for “Northern Lighthouse Board” for the transfer of personnel & goods within the Orkney sector. Other clients include; Northern constabulary, Scottish Hydro, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, NHS Orkney, Highlands & Islands Fire Service, Winder Associates, Open Hydro, SSPCA, Tulloch Engineering, N J Coward surveyors, Drever & Heddle, Lows Solicitors, BBC TV, Grampian TV, European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), Aquatera, Aurora, SAMS Research, Bomaero Films, Ordinance Survey, Mainstream Sea Farms, etc, etc,.

Orkney Boat Charters vessel is a 40’ wide-beamed Procharter specifically designed for its role as an offshore workboat, charter boat. It has adequate space for seating up to 12 personnel within its heated cabin together with a table for the use of computer equipment etc. Electrical power is supplied by inverter or generator. It is MCA coded category 2 up to 60 miles offshore with a maximum of 14 persons. It is also workboat coded and carries £2 million public liability insurance.

We are also currently seeking a 17 to 24 metre steel workboat to add to our fleet, this will give us better facilities & lifting capacities for our workboat duties including mooring handling, towage & maintenance duties. In addition to this we are also looking for a shallow draft, inshore, road transportable vessel for those smaller survey jobs.

Orkney boat charter is also able to supply crew only for boat deliveries around the UK & Europe. Staff available range from lifeboat cox's to tug & passenger vessel skippers & engineers. Prices can vary considerably depending on the vessel specification, but very often works out as a cheaper option than trying to move vessels by road. No obligation, free quotations available on request.

If you require any type of offshore service we should be able to help, even if it is out of our normal range of duties we should be able to put you in contact with a suitable contractor from our list of marine service operators.