brian.smith Posted March 29, 2016 Report Share Posted March 29, 2016 you can carry alcohol but cannot consume it in the bar or cafe area I got searched and had a bottle of malt I had a huge fight with them and demanded to see a member of staff I was immediately allowed on the boat. The bottle was a present for someone but not the point if I want to have a tipple in my cabin thats my business Urabug 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavi Ugl Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) *Groan*, I see on the front page of this week's The Shetland Times "calls" for CalMac to be given the North Boats contract. That really would be another nail in the coffin. Can you imagine the welcome onboard and safety announcments given in both English and Gaelic?. I better not joke....... I never cease to marvel at the agenda our local media push dressed up as "news". Edited July 8, 2016 by Kavi Ugl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berserker Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 CalMac ran it until Serco took over. Firstly in a joint venture with RBS, then on their own. Didn't hear any gaelic announcements then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorrie Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 Ah, but they could be thinking in Gaelic....... Anyway, I don't think any private outfit should be just 'given' any contract. That's just cronyism. Pity we can't get commercial operators such as Brittany Ferries interested, they've got their heads screwed on and are used to running longer distance ferries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuckleJoannie Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 Calmac is wholly owned by the Scottish government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorrie Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 Apologies, I shouldn't have put 'private'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyboy Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 Seems like a reasonable idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavi Ugl Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 (edited) CalMac ran it until Serco took over. Firstly in a joint venture with RBS, then on their own. Didn't hear any gaelic announcements then. I'm well aware of that and what a disaster it was. The contract had to be disanulled and a new one put in place. I just don't want to see black and white CalMac ships running the Shetland service. Give it to Smyril Line with the stipulation of a two month summer link between Lerwick and Bergen provided in the contract. Edited July 10, 2016 by Kavi Ugl George. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelsup Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 Don't think Smyril in the least bit interested. They will not even employ Shetland seamen . Better a Scottish cal mac than an English serco, or is that being racist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorrie Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 CalMac ran it until Serco took over. Firstly in a joint venture with RBS, then on their own. Didn't hear any gaelic announcements then. I'm well aware of that and what a disaster it was. The contract had to be disanulled and a new one put in place. I just don't want to see black and white CalMac ships running the Shetland service. Give it to Smyril Line with the stipulation of a two month summer link between Lerwick and Bergen provided in the contract. Smyril Line? You mean the ones who were happy for Shetland to spend a rake on upgrading the port facilities for them, only to see Smyril give them the finger and bypass Shetland completely? pootle that, torpedo the barstards, I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavi Ugl Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 (edited) Wheelsup, how do you know Smyril Line isn't interested?. Serco isn't English, it's a multi-national conglomorate that shouldn't have been allowed near the contract. As someone said to me a few months ago, awarding it to Serco was just a hatchet job by the Scottish Government. In other words getting Serco to do the dirty work of slashing costs to the bone. I don't see many Shetlanders employed on the actual North Boats nowadays. I'm not saying there's none, but Shetlanders are a minority of the crew. Scorrie, yes, the Smyril Line that has paid a dividend to Shetland in excess of £200,000 over the past two/three years. Edited July 10, 2016 by Kavi Ugl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorrie Posted July 11, 2016 Report Share Posted July 11, 2016 Scorrie, yes, the Smyril Line that has paid a dividend to Shetland in excess of £200,000 over the past two/three years. So, if we'd left the money just sat in an account at 2%, we'd have made £180,000 in the last 3 years. Plus the interest from the previous years on top of that. So it's not really generous at all. I don't know what our stake in Smyril is worth now compared to when we invested, maybe we'll do OK out of that - if we sell up. But I seem to recall our position weakening after the Faroese Govt had to step in and bail out Smyril at one point. I could be completely wrong and stand to be corrected, Kavi. But that's how it seems to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirvaluk Posted July 11, 2016 Report Share Posted July 11, 2016 There are at least 12 Shetlanders on the North boats at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelsup Posted July 11, 2016 Report Share Posted July 11, 2016 I used the Smyril Line most years it operated. The problem was not enough people used it. Sometimes not another local got on or off. The only foreign company that seemed to s how. Any interest in the Northern Isles run was Irish Ferries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papsy Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 12 shetlanders on the north boats,not many out of a crew of over 200 between 3 boats,used to be a lot more before they gave the cargo boats away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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