Transport / Fragility of ferry service highlighted as three routes down to single vessel
North Isles councillor Robert Thomson said ‘we’ve got no spare ferries at all’ at the moment
SHETLAND’s inter-island ferry service is at its most “fragile” in years as three routes are currently reduced to a single vessel.
Shetland Islands Council’s environment and transport committee chair Moraig Lyall said however that she was reassured all the necessary actions are being taken to ensure “ongoing operation”.
The Bluemull Sound, Yell Sound and Whalsay services are currently reduced to a single vessel service due to ferries being in dry dock.
A key problem is the late return from dry dock of the Bluemull Sound vessel Geira, which has had a knock-on effect to Whalsay.
At the moment the Geira, Daggri (Yell Sound) and Hendra (Whalsay) are all in dry dock.
North Isles member Robert Thomson told a meeting of the environment and transport committee on Monday that the SIC “really has nothing spare at all”.
“It can become very serious,” he warned.
“We’ve got no spare ferries at all anywhere and it’s going to be the case if another ferry goes off, we have to try and find boats from somewhere else or otherwise somebody is going to be cut off effectively.”
Lyall described it as the most fragile the ferries have been since she took on her role as chair in 2022, or even since the service adopted the format it has at present.
Infrastructure director John Smith said the SIC is keeping the committee chair and vice-chair, and communities, updated, but added that the situation is at the core of the council’s ferry resilience review.
North Isles member Duncan Anderson also asked for an update on the SIC’s new relief vessel project.
The council recently went out to procurement on a new relief ferry, with a £10 million Scottish Government grant set to be used towards its purchase.
Smith said a full business case should be brought to council in September.
He said the SIC is currently evaluating interest in the initial tender, with another round to follow to sort out who will be appointed for the job.
A procurement notice said the vessel must be delivered to the council by 31 March 2029, although the council has a “strong preference” for an earlier handover of 31 October 2028.
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