Smyril Line / Norröna

[Hambone]

Here is the story here

 

http://shetlandtoday.co.uk/shetlandtimes/content_details.asp?ContentID=19326

[Wheesht]

well i was all in favor of the money in smirl line, but if the blinking boat is not comming to shetland, then I for 1 want our money back and they can get lost!

 

Not the way it works Sam.

 

We, yes we, invested the money in a business not a service to Shetland. If the board (do we still have a Shetland board member?) vote to accept the new timetable that excludes Shetland - end of!

 

The legal action, in my view, will not prevent this business making what they see as purely a business decision and ceasing the Shetland stop during winter.

 

We will get diddly back unless someone nice idiotic billionaire with large amounts of disposable cash buys our share out. And we all know that the Development Trust will not sell their share holding.

[NewMagnie]

As long as it makes money, what the hell does it matter if it only sails from Valparaiso to Shanghai?

 

Looking at the rest of Shetland's investments, say through the charitable trust - Should we insist that Rio Tinto Zinc, for example, open a quarry in Fladdabister? Or that BAE build at least one jet per year at a unit in Gremista?

[wally jumblat]

Only in Shetland ...

 

A public body goes to court to force a dodgy business they have invested in to continue pursuing loss-making activities.

 

"Dear judge, please make this company lose more of our money".

[david]

The Norrona was making money over the summer? Surely its making money on Shetland over the summer? Why are they pulling out of Shetland all together?

 

I would be happy for them to pull out over the winter. But I'm sure the summer route is profitible, even if they only called in June, July and August.

 

I read somewhere they wanted to call in the mainland to maximise profit. Surely that would throw their already tight and often delayed summer schedule all over the place.

[Ghostrider]

.... And we all know that the Development Trust will not sell their share holding.

 

Notwithstanding the accuracy of the Shetland News reoprt, the clear insinuation is given that the SDA investment was made subject to an "understanding", that Smyril would commit to Shetland being a port of call up to and including 2008.

 

Again, notwithstanding the reoprt's accuracy, it appears that the SDT suspects Smyril is no longer committed to that understanding. and that it's future is in doubt. That being the case, IMHO pussyfooting around in courts making lawyers fat is no place to be headed, the SDT should be making it plain to Smyril, honour that argreement, or we're after our millions out ......So what? if they have to sell the boat and fold the company as a result. Smyril is a loser, and getting to be a bigger loser day on day, a bottomless money pit. It would be one thing leaving our money in *if* the company was profitable, or was showing signs of profitability in the forseeable furture, but by all accounts it's not. It would also be tolerable to prop up a dead company if we derived a direct befefit from it's existence, ie a locally beneficial service, as we have done so far. They pull the service, we have no good reason to have money lying rotting in their coffers, as the longer it lies there in the present climate of the company, the less chance we have of seeing it or any return from it.

 

The SDA maybe "won't" sell their shareholding....but that being the case they need to be "made" to sell it. Who the Sam Hill are the SDA anyway but a few nominees loosely put in place by the Shetland public to mind, and spend the public purse they have been entrusted prudently and wisely. If they are not doing so, and I would most certainly class retaining a significant investment in a dead but hungry company, who will only provide a local service when it has a court order served on it, as highly irresponsible. We, the Shetland public, the owners of that purse they have sent the Millions from to the Nor'wast, need to make the SDT trustees accountable to us for their decisions, and adequately justify them. If they fail to be accountable or cannot justify themselves to the Shetland public's satisfaction, we should be uncerimonously ejecting them out the Town Hall doors on to their asses on to the Hillhead, and replacing them with individuals with some grain of business sense and sense of responsibility.

[Wheesht]

Ghostrider, have we not just invested in a compnay making us a shareholder?

 

If that is the case we can't just lift our millions out of the middle of the table and walk away. If we can sell that shareholding we may get a return, if not we have to sit and hope that business becomes profitable and then get a return.

[Ghostrider]

Ghostrider, have we not just invested in a compnay making us a shareholder?

 

If that is the case we can't just lift our millions out of the middle of the table and walk away. If we can sell that shareholding we may get a return, if not we have to sit and hope that business becomes profitable and then get a return.

 

Yes, yes, and yes. But.... the first two steps towards possibly selling those shares, is firstly to take the decision to offer them for sale, then doing it....

 

As far as I am aware the SDT have done neither, or even considered doing them, and that, in my opinion is what the Shetland public should be forcing the SDT to address. It, again in my opinion, is both irresponsible and very bad business judgement for them just to sit there and watch a company in which our money is invested, stagger from one crisis to the next in it's death throes, taking our money with it. If their influence on the board hasn't secured our investment by now by conventional means, it never will, and if we can't secure it we need to get it out if at all possible.

 

That boat is bleeding Smyril dry as long as the board are hell bent to keep it on northern routes all year round, their efforts to "grow the market" have been a dead loss, and they've sold pretty much all the assets they can sell to tide them over. A merger, like the failed one with a worthless dead duck like Fjord Line, rumours of calling at different ports and opening up new markets, and repeated approaches to the SDT with begging bowl in hand, which at least the SDT have had the sense to refuse so far, is clutching at straws, simply papering over the cracks to hide them, it does not address the issue of losing money hand over fist for half the year or more due to massive over-capacity.

 

A motor hirer does not send out a 50 seater bus for one or two passengers, (unless they're subsidised for the rest of their costs by the SIC or equivalent elsewhere, but that's a whole other can of worms), why does a nautical passenger/freight haulier seem to think they can get away with what their land or air based counterpart has over and over proven that they can't.

[deardron]

Have a look at this thread on the biggest Faroese webforum where people express their solidarity with Shetlanders and are opposing Smyril Line management's plans to exclude Shetland from their itinerary:

 

http://www.kjak.fo/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3468

 

They mention that Shetland shareholders saved Smyril Line from bankruptcy some years ago, speak about moral rules in business etc etc etc

[Muppet]

If there was any kind of contractual condition to the original investment, then surely the Development Trust can demand their money be repaid. If Smyril Line goes bankrupt because of it, then so be it. It wont be any loss to Shetland if they intend to stop coming here.

 

I'm sure one of the radio reports stated that the Development Trust had tried unsucessfully to sell their shares. Did anyone else hear that or am I wrong? If thats true then it would appear that they either do not intend to, or cannot get repaid.

[Guest Anonymous]

Could Smyril maybe gie wis back wir twartree pounds. Dan maybe we could gie dat money tae Atlantic Airways as a welcome gift..

At least dey want tae come here

[Guest Anonymous]

SOME ISLES TWA HUNDRED MILES BEWAST,

TOUGHT HIT WID BE FINE IF WE WIR ASKED,

TAE GIE DEM TWARTREE MILLION BUCKS,

TAE HELP DEM OOT, DA USELESS 'CHAPS'.

 

SO WE GAE DEM MONEY AN DEY WANTED MAIR,

GOODLAD SAID "NOO DAT'S NO FAIR",

BIT HIT DUSNAE MAITER WHIT HE SAID,

FOUR POINT TWO MILLION POUNDS IR DEAD.

 

NOO YUN MUCKLE LINER WIS MEANT TAE BE,

AN EMBLEM O SHETLAND ON DA SEA,

BIT I TINK DAT HIT'S MAIR LIKELY TAE BE,

ANIDDER WHIT ELEPHANT FUR AA TAE SEE.

 

 

RASMIE (Da Aulder Een)

 

 

[Ghostrider]

NOO YUN MUCKLE LINER WIS MEANT TAE BE,

AN EMBLEM O SHETLAND ON DA SEA,

BIT I TINK DAT HIT'S MAIR LIKELY TAE BE,

ANIDDER WHIT ELEPHANT FUR AA TAE SEE.

 

 

RASMIE (Da Aulder Een)

 

 

 

I tink da best dat can be dun we ir, is sink her acros da mooth idda puhl, ahint wir idder white elephant we hae it Wilsness, an mak a brig o ir. A fine wye t' hinder fok dat haes t' geen bye da heys, fae flitein we plens ower da sam bit o tar we dis new runwye.

[Guest Anonymous]

Or sink her i da haddock sand an keep da "Guiding Light" awa fae wir twartree fish...

[Frankie]

I went on the Norrona at Easter to go to Hamburg and Amsterdam rather than going to Aberdeen and then flying to Amsterdam because it was much cheaper. £220 return to Denmark for 3 in a 3 berth cabin.

There were 1300 passengers on board when the boat docked at Lerwick, mainly Faroese, 1 or 2 cars came off at Lerwick and only 6 boarded at Lerwick.

It shouldn't be a surprise then that they no longer want to call in at Lerwick, if virtually no-one is supporting it.