‘Appalling’: Images of cruise ship visiting St Kilda spark outrage online

There are no permanent residents on St Kilda today but the main island of Hirta is occupied all year round by the people who work on the military base. National Trust for Scotland (NTS) staff are also resident on the island from April to September every year. 

READ MORE: Grave threat of climate change to St Kilda’s seabirds revealed in new study

Earlier this week, images of a cruise ship docked off Hirta were shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, leading some to question the frequency of such visits.

Meanwhile, others expressed concern over how such visits ‘help the climate issues’ on the archipelago, which is situated around 40 miles west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Responding to the concerns raised on X, NTS said it believes that the visit by the cruise ship was unscheduled. 

They tweeted: This was drawn to our attention by St Kilda’s Head Ranger, Sue Loughran. We work with the cruise ship industry to encourage responsible tourism and we limit the number of vessels calling into St Kilda. 

So how is this helping the climate issues in St Kilda https://t.co/b8cS0dA6SM pic.twitter.com/FWPcH79h83

— Fiona Drane (@FionaDrane) May 14, 2024

“We also limit the number of passengers who come ashore. The companies we work with agree to our biosecurity procedures and wildlife-watching codes. However, on this occasion, we believe this vessel was sailing past the island en route to another destination.

“It did not land passengers and was not scheduled to visit. We will speak to the company about your concerns and appreciate you flagging this to us.”

The cruise ship in question appears to have been Spirit of Adventure, a  58,000-ton cruise ship operated by Saga Cruises, which departed from Dover on May 9 on a scheduled 14-day ‘West Coast Explorer: from Orkney to Ireland’ sailing.

The itinerary listed on the Saga Cruises makes no mention of a stop over at St Kilda.

The Herald has contacted Saga Cruises for comment.