No change to cruise liner dues

An attempt to raise harbour dues for cruise ships and passengers who choose to visit Orkney was scuppered at a special general meeting of Orkney Islands Council last Thursday.

The last ditch move to increase both berthing charges and wharfage (per passenger) charges by three per cent was made by Councillor David Tullock and supported by Councillor Bill Stout.

However after discussions, and a vote by councillors, the rates applied to harbour users – which had previously been approved by the development committee of the council– was supported, with no increase for the cruise liner industry, despite other users, such as the local fishing industry, seeing an increase of five per cent.