Urgent answers needed on replacement ferry

Following today’s confirmation that the mv Hamnavoe is likely to be out of service for four weeks, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur has called for urgent answers on what replacement provision is being put in place on the Stromness-Scrabster route.

He said:  “When the contract was signed last year, people in Orkney were promised an end to disruption during refit periods. Less clear was what would happen in the event of an unplanned loss of one of the vessels.

“However, Serco and the Scottish Government have accepted that this is a ‘lifeline’ service.  The Stromness-Scrabster route was explicitly written into the contract, after Scottish ministers backed down from an earlier decision not to specify the service.

“Quite rightly, therefore, the Orkney community will expect Serco and the Scottish Government to deliver on its promise and to do so without delay.

“I have left both Serco and the transport minister in no doubt about what is expected, and will take the opportunity, when parliament returns tomorrow, to maintain the pressure on the Government regarding this vital issue.”