Aberdeen Harbour Development

[suuusssiiieee]

Decent point Kavi - indeed looking most days at the AIS maps the amount of vessels heading South to the Mainland as opposed working out of either Scalloway or Lerwick is immense. 

 

As for Nigg Bay, well according to the contractor is should be up and running by 2020.

 

The new contract for the Northern Isles starts in 2018 for 6 years (i guess the same length as the current contract),  i would imagine we will have the current ferries until that expires in 2024. After that i think we'll see new vessels on this route, but not before that.

 

As the SNP doesn't really give two figs for the Northern Isles they better keep to their promise to lower fares dramatically...and upon reflection they might even give us a second hand SNP battle bus to shuttle back and forth from Nigg with..

[ll]

Might be the case that is DFDS wins the contract for the North Isles feirries, they would just pension off some of their old hellery from their large ferry fleet here, same as P & O used to do?

[Ghostrider]

^ Thats just about the size of it. Few if any established shipping companies are going to have much interest in running someone else's boats for them, they'll want to have their own boats on it that they want on it. The way things have gone when the contract was up before has made that pretty clear - mainstream providers largely couldn't be seen for dust once they'd read the contract small print.

 

The choice to be made is, regardless of where she docks at the other end, if folk want new(ish) boats purpose built?? for the run they'll have to put up with paper front companies specially created for the job to run the contract, just like we've had this last 15 or so year, and if folk want the service run by an experienced operator with the infrastructure and resources to cover every eventuality, they'll have to be prepared to put up with whatever damn boat that operator feels like putting on the route.

[RileyBKing]

Sounds like a job for CalMac?

[magnie ii]

Sounds like a job for CalMac?

yer they did so well before contract having to go back out to tender because they could not even count

[RileyBKing]

Indeed but they are effectively the State Shipping Co which just possibly might help in the negotiations next time...

[audi-ya-do]

I think you'll find the original Northlink were a subsidiary of Calmac and hence was state owned in a circuitous way.

To be fair you don't know what you've got till its gone. I used to complain, like most, about the original Northlink ferries. Things from not sailing in even mild storms to poor service onboard. However in July 2006 we made a return trip- Family of four, car and cabin with the addition of a 4 meter trailer for the return leg - £290. Fast forward to October 2016 again family of four, car and cabin, but no trailer this time £565. Wish the old Northlink was back.

As for deeper berths, in a way I welcome it. As at the ferry consultation we were constantly told that the problem with lowering ferry fares was the capacity of the boats and their inability to take more passengers if they lowered fares...