The company operates ferry services across 15 islands.

The company is owned by the Orkney Islands Council and was established in 1960 as the Orkney Islands Shipping Company.

[1] In 1991, the Orkney Islands Shipping Company acquired a private sector ferry company also called Orkney Ferries, which had been established to compete on the short sea crossing from the Scottish mainland to the Orkney Islands, but which had not succeeded in establishing the route.

This company's ferry was assimilated into the inter-island fleet, and in 1995 the Orkney Islands Shipping Company adopted the name Orkney Ferries.

[2] Services include:[1][3] Orkney Ferries operates a fleet of inter-island vessels, most of which were specially built for service in the islands.