OIC tight-lipped over hydrofoil ferry costs

The Orcadian has been stymied in its efforts to uncover how much money Orkney Islands Council (OIC) has spent on a project to test an electric hydrofoil ferry.

Zevi 1 arrived in Orkney in May last year as part of the UK Government-funded £15 million Electric Orkney project, which aims to accelerate maritime decarbonisation in the islands.

When the project to test the Zevi 1 was first announced in 2023, the local authority said it would have to stump up an estimated £3.8 million to cover start-up costs and crew training for the duration of the three-year project.

After the announcement that the vessel is set to return to Belfast for a “system upgrade” in the months ahead, The Orcadian asked OIC for a breakdown of costs incurred by the local authority on the project to date.

That request was submitted last Wednesday, May 20, but figures are yet to be received despite repeated attempts by the newspaper.

Zevi 1 is a 12-metre vessel capable of a cruising speed of 25 knots, using hydrofoil technology, and has the potential to significantly cut travelling times to the outer isles.

It has a passenger capacity of 12 passengers and the hopes are, that by providing a rapid travel option, that it would enable more people to live in the isles but work on the Mainland.

Despite hopes that the vessel, which uses hydrofoil technology, would have been carrying passengers last year, the project and vessel has been beset by issues and is still yet to see a passenger climb aboard.

The CEO of developers Artermis Technologies, Iain Percy, was positive and confident over the capabilities of this new technology, despite the hurdles.

“Most important is to be prudent and make sure that everything is correct,” said Mr Percy when asked about the delays.

“I think with new technology, as we see, it always takes longer — quite a lot of that is around the regulatory constraints, which I have no objection to actually.

“It’s just that they don’t necessarily run to the timeline of fast development, but neither should they because it’s important everything is checked independently.”

A larger 50-person foiling ferry is also to be trialled during the project.

It is being fitted out and is set to be launched in Belfast towards the end of the year, after which it will undertake sea trials there.