The future of our internal ferry services

The OIC and the Scottish Government have issued a joint statement on the future of the internal ferry service for Orkney.

Orkney Islands Council and the Scottish Government say that they have a shared objective to identify a mechanism to ensure that the Orkney islands’ lifeline internal ferry services are established on a sustainable footing.

The statement goes on to say: “That approach should reflect the Scottish Ferries Plan approach but also be responsive to Orkney’s particular financial and regulatory background.”

Separate to any consideration of the future responsibility for these services, Orkney Islands Council, with technical input from the Scottish Government, will complete the detailed technical work to define the service needs against the Scottish Ferries Plan Routes and Services Methodology. This will include an associated financial analysis.

A timetable for conducting this work will be agreed on the basis that both parties will undertake the work without any commitment at this stage.

The statement added: “There is agreement between parties to the principle that the outcome of the work will have no immediate bearing for either party. Following conclusion of the Routes and Services Methodology work it will be necessary to agree the principles which will underpin any subsequent steps. These in turn will need to be agreed by both the Scottish Government and Orkney Islands Council before further progress is made.”

In addition, the Scottish Government says it is currently taking forward work to bring about a new Northern Isles consultative mechanism involving Orkney Islands Council, all the relevant ferry operators, and other key stakeholders to ensure that ferry services meet the needs of the communities.