Community / Up Helly Aa cruise ship visit an ‘opportunity’, says Lerwick Community Council chairman
THE PROSPECT of a cruise ship visiting Lerwick for Up Helly Aa next year was given an airing at a meeting of the town’s community council on Monday – with its chairman calling it an “opportunity”.
The Fred Olsen cruise is set to visit during the day for Lerwick Up Helly Aa, arriving in the morning and leaving at night after the procession.
The Balmoral ship, which will also travel to Norway on the same trip, holds up to 1,350 guests.
Lerwick Community Council’s Andy Carter raised the ship’s visit during Monday’s meeting as members discussed any business not on the agenda.
“I just wonder if people around this table have a view on this eventuality,” he said.
Carter said he was thinking about management and safety, adding that there will be a “large number of people who have a limited awareness of the event” arriving in to Lerwick at the same time.
Lerwick South councillor Peter Campbell sought to deflect the discussion away from the community council, saying:
“I think this is a matter for the Lerwick Port Authority and the police if they have any concerns about management of numbers of people.”
Community council chairman Jim Anderson, meanwhile, said: “I think it’s an opportunity we should try to be positive on.”
He said that “folk are very well behaved” at the “well-policed” procession.
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