Assurances aplenty as council chiefs host ferry meeting

OIC convener Councillor Steven Heddle and chief executive Alistair Buchan held talks in Edinburgh today with Judith Ainsley, head of ferries policy and contracts with Transport Scotland, and Stuart Garrett, managing director of Serco NorthLink Ferries.

In a statement this evening, Councillor Heddle said: “Full and frank discussions took place over a period of two-and-a-half hours.

“We were assured of the transport minister’s continuing commitment to the Stromness-Scrabster route and received a detailed update on the scope and extent of the work required to bring the Hamnavoe back into service. We were told that the work is on track to be completed on May 24.

“The council and the Scottish Government have gone on record that a replacement vessel should stand in on the route and the search for a suitable replacement continues.

“We were given details of the four ship brokerages and three other governments that have been engaged in the search for alternative vessels for the route. However, it was explained that for a range of technical and other factors, none of the vessels considered so far has been available or suitable as a stand-in for the Hamnavoe.

“Meanwhile, we are advised that sufficient capacity has been provided to accommodate all those wishing to travel during this period.”

The OIC representatives were also assured that travel inquiries received by Serco NorthLink are being redirected to other providers and to other routes.

Councillor Heddle added: “We were further assured that if vehicle capacity on Pentland Ferries was insufficient then unaccompanied cars would be able to travel on the Helliar, with passengers carried by other carriers and coaches provided.

“We were advised that for the future all options would be considered, including the provision of additional calls into Kirkwall from the Aberdeen-Shetland-Orkney service, or additional flights.”

Mr Buchan said: “The operator also confirmed that they undertake regular contingency planning exercises to make appropriate provision for cases of disruption, including the refit timetable. We also received a commitment that there will now be regular consultation meetings with both the operator and the Scottish Government. We now look forward to continuing these discussions in Orkney next week.”