A ferry, bought by Orkney council to cover the crossing between Westray and Papa Westray, should return to the route in mid-March.
The local authority has said repairs to The Nordic Sea have now been completed after damage was sustained in December.
Last week, the ferry underwent sea trials in Scapa Flow.
The 47-passenger, modern, fibreglass vessel will now be part of Orkney Ferries’ annual refit process. This may include covering other small vessels’ routes.
Vessel replaced 50-year-old counterpart
The Nordic Sea arrived in Orkney from Norway in April 2020 as a replacement for the nearly 50-year-old Golden Mariana.
The new vessel cost over £1.5m – half of which was paid for through Transport Scotland.
A period of staff recruitment, training, and familiarization had to take place before it could come into service.
However, on its inaugural, passenger-carrying journey between Westray and Papa Westray, on December 3, it sustained damage.
The sacrificial fendering on the boat was damaged during a training exercise at Papa Westray’s pier.
There was also an issue with a stabilizer caused by the boat hitting something while at sea.
It was hoped that these issues would only take a week to resolve. However, there was a delay in getting new parts from Norway.
This was drawn out by the shutdown over the festive period.
This meant The Golden Mariana returned to the route in the meantime.
Orkney council has said additional fendering has been fitted to the Papa Westray pier and this is ongoing at Westray to reduce the risk of any future potential issues.