Transport / SIC looking into building a new ferry to ease pressure on inter-island service
SHETLAND Islands Council could order a new ferry to add much needed resilience to its aging fleet.
The council has been on the lookout for a second-hand ferry for some time but has so far been unsuccessful on identifying a suitable vessel that could improve the reliability of the inter-island service.
Initial discussions have been held with the naval architects involved in designing the new Fair Isle ferry, the council’s infrastructure director John Smith confirmed to Shetland News.
A strategic outline business case for a new ferry is expected to be presented to councillors next month. It will give some indications of cost and size, as well as timescale.
An initial ‘due date’ of 31 December 2028 for a new ferry to replace the 40-year-old Fivla – the current spare ferry – has been mentioned in council papers this week.
However, depending on circumstances, the Fivla could also be retained as the second spare ferry, Smith confirmed.
“At the moment the evidence seems to suggest that it is increasingly difficult to sustain the timetable with only one spare ferry, and with the fleet continuing to age, that is likely to get even more challenging,” he said.
It is not known yet how the new ferry will be funded but one possibility is using the additional £10 million of funding from the Scottish Government earmarked to improve island connectivity.
The new ferry would be designed to be as versatile as can be to allow her to stand in on as many inter-island routes as possible.
Council chief executive Maggie Sandison said: “When the council undertook the ferry resilience review [last year] we recognised that one of the ways to take the pressure off an aging fleet and address the risks about breakdown and the length of time vessels were spending in drydock.
“The decision was to explore buying a second-hand vessel or look at procuring a new vessel to add resilience to the fleet.”
Smith added that the inter-island ferry service was “right at the edge of resilience”.
“The fixed link solutions take a long time,” he said, “and we have to live with deteriorating ferry availability if we are not making a move now.”
The fragility of the council’s inter-island ferry service has been laid bare on many occasions in recent months with those reliant on the service increasingly expressing their frustration.
The Bluemull Sound service was affected at the turn of the year by dry docking delays, and the Whalsay route is also being disrupted for the same reason this month.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
