Marine / Fair Isle ferry funding now moving in SIC’s direction
FUNDS for the new Fair Isle ferry project are starting to come Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) way from the UK Government, a meeting has heard.
SIC development director Neil Grant told a meeting of the local authority’s environment and transport committee on Tuesday that full agreements were reached with government after a final business case was approved by elected members in December.
There is still a hope that harbour work could start in March, with the contract still being finalised.
Grant said the contract is still also being finalised for the vessel build, which is expected to be a two-year project.
Speaking outside the meeting, Shetland South councillor Allison Duncan welcomed the news around funding and said “long may it continue”.
The overall estimated project cost sits at £45.4 million, with the UK Government set to provide nearly £27 million.
The SIC’s £18.6 million contribution towards the project is set to come from borrowing rather than reserves.
The government’s grant funding will be paid in six monthly amounts subject to quarterly monitoring and evaluation.
The project will involve a replacement for the Good Shepherd, the ageing Fair Isle ferry which came into service in the 1980s.
She does not meet current accessibility standards, and the new vessel – which will also have capacity for 12 passengers – will be a larger and faster model with increased lift-on, lift-off capability.
However the most costly element of the project will be improvements to the harbour at Fair Isle – which has a population of around 50 – as well at Grutness on the southern tip of Shetland’s South Mainland.
The project is behind an initial timescale of the new ferry being in operation by April 2026.
The ferry design has also been scaled back from a fully ro-ro model due to rising costs.
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