Transport / Councillors happy to support initial business case for £11.7m relief ferry
A PROPOSED new build ferry which would give Shetland Islands Council (SIC) extra resilience could cost £11.76 million.
However, it is proposed that a £10 million capital grant given to the SIC by the Scottish Government for inter-island connectivity would be used towards the cost, with the rest met by borrowing.
An outline business case went in front of councillors on the SIC’s policy and resources committee on Monday.
They were happy to recommend that the full council – which meets later this month – approve the proposals in the business case and take the project forward to the next stages.
It is proposed that the ferry would be 33 metres in length and could carry up to 15 cars, while an estimated timescale suggests it could be in service in 2027.
Concept design work has been carried out by Macduff Ship Design Ltd.
The aim is that an extra vessel on the council’s fleet would add resilience to the inter-island network, including times when other ferries are out of service.
The outline business case report highlights that the SIC’s existing relief ferry Fivla is “fully occupied” providing cover for planned maintenance across the year.
“Therefore it is not available to provide cover for any reactive maintenance,” it said.
“This is a real and present challenge to the ability of the service to maintain the timetable.
“This lack of available cover also precludes organising ‘surge’ capacity to react to issues or opportunities which could be resolved by deploying a relief ferry.”
Another hope with a new ferry is that it could help with capacity, given that the existing boats are ageing and with vehicles getting larger over time, there is less deck space.
The report to councillors adds that the revenue cost of “principal and interest payments” will be included in the council’s annual request for ferry funding from the Scottish Government, which over the last number of years has covered the deficit in running services.
Councillors were told that the current design for the new ferry has capacity for 41 passenger seats.
Ferries manager Andrew Inkster also told Monday’s meeting that the council no longer has “grandfather rights” on accommodation below the water line.
He also said the council has looked “long and hard” at the subject of the proposed new ferry being able to be used on services across Shetland, with a particular focus on making sure changes to crew certification are not needed.
But Lerwick South councillor John Fraser questioned if a bigger ferry was needed, especially due to the vehicle demand in the North Isles.
Inkster said the new ferry has been designed to maximise existing shore infrastructure and crewing, with a reminder made that the project is about resilience and the “here and now”.
The message was that wider issues over capacity is being considered in the council’s inter-island transport connectivity programme, which is currently looking at the prospect of tunnels on certain ferry routes.
Meanwhile environment and transport committee chair Moraig Lyall said she was “really pleased to see this project moving forward at some pace”.
She urged all elected members to support the project and said it would be a “good asset” to have when other vessels need to be taken out of action.
Meanwhile SIC leader Emma Macdonald said the project was a “really sensible use” of the £10 million government funding.
North Isles member Duncan Anderson also sought to give appreciation to the work going on behind the scenes to get things to a point where the Scottish Government is able to provide capital funding.
It is separate to the new Fair Isle ferry which is set to be built soon and delivered to the SIC in 2026.
That project was also supported by external funding, although it came from the UK Government.
With significant harbour improvements needed, the total cost for the Fair Isle project amounted to more than £45 million – with the UK Government stumping up nearly £27 million.
However the estimated cost of the new build Fair Isle ferry is only £5.6 million.
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