Blaze wrecks Cooke Scotland feed barge

Investigators are seeking the cause of a blaze that damaged a feed barge at Cooke Aquaculture Scotland’s West Fara salmon farm in Orkney yesterday morning. No one was on board the barge, said company spokesperson Murray Spooner.

“The incident was quickly brought under control, and no one was injured. We are working closely with the emergency services and an investigation is under way to establish the cause.”

The RNLI’s Longhope lifeboat was first on the scene and checked the area to ensure there were no hazards such as anchor lines that would impede the approach of the harbour tug, Freyja of Scapa, which was on passage to the scene with firefighting apparatus.

The lifeboat stood by for about an hour until the fire was extinguished at about 8.40am. The blaze had been reported two hours earlier by the MV Hoy Head, a roll-on, roll-off vessel operated by Orkney Ferries.