Lerwick Port Authority News

The Scottish Port of Cromarty Firth is set to welcome its first cruise ship since 2019 with the arrival of the Marella Explorer 2 on July 25.The news comes as the Scottish cruise sector prepares to resume operations after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Scotland will switch to Level Zero on Monday (July 19).The 72,000tn Marella Explorer 2 will be making her inaugural call to Invergordon with a further 3 calls throughout the season, carrying British passengers and calling at British ports only.UK Government…

Pioneering Spirit, one of the world's largest vessels, reached Lerwick Harbour on Friday, August 28, carrying aboard the 14,200 tonne Ninian Northern Platform topside.Prior to the arrival in Lerwick, the giant catamaran had removed the Ninian Northern topsides in a single-lift from a jacket standing in 140 m water depth, at the Ninian oilfield around 100 miles (88 nautical miles) north-east of Shetland.Delivery of the Ninian Northern platform topside marked the inauguration of a new…

Scottish Government identifies Dales Voe in Lerwick in Shetland  as “preferred site” for an "ultra deep water" decommissioning port after UK-wide feasibility study.Scotland’s supply chain could be set to win more large scale decommissioning projects, after Dales Voe in Shetland has been identified as the optimal location for an ultra-deep water port.The Lerwick location was selected following a UK-wide feasibility study, conducted by Ernst and Young, has as the optimal and most cost effective location for decommissioning work.The announcement has been made as key figures from oil and gas operators, service companies and other key stakeholders…

Lerwick Port Authority has detailed a series of objectives to meet its aim of running an efficient, cost-effective harbour, including continuing expansion of the infrastructure. The goals are featured in an interim Update produced ahead of publication of a new style annual report in Spring. Commenting on activity, Chairman Brian Anderson notes: “Lerwick reached peak level in 2013 and 2014, largely driven by oil & gas projects, both onshore and offshore. The Update also notes that the changing requirements of port users and the Shetland community have required the Authority to be flexible in its approach to managing and operating the harbour. Peak activity saw some capital infrastructure projects accelerated.

Lerwick Port Authority have inaugurated a new Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) which utilises the latest technology to improve the handling of ship movements at the busy Shetland port. Transas, a world-leader in providing harmonised integrated solutions to the maritime industry, has installed the system across four sites covering the port area – port control in the main building and three remote stations, at Rova Head north of Lerwick and Maryfield and Kirkabister, on the island of Bressay, monitoring the northern approaches, inner harbour and southern approaches, respectively. Fibre and microwave links supply data back to port control. The completion was marked on Friday 19 August, 2016 with invitations extended to port users to view the new system.

The record for the biggest cruise ship into Lerwick Harbour will be broken on Today (Sunday) when Celebrity Silhouette enters the Shetland port on a 14-nights British Isles Cruise. On her maiden call at Lerwick, Celebrity Cruises’ 122,210 gross tonne vessel will beat the record set by the 115,055 gross tonne Azura on 30 June. Captain Calum Grains, Lerwick Port Authority’s Harbour Master and Deputy Chief Executive, said: “The visit by Celebrity Silhouette will be another highlight of a record-breaking season and in the long involvement of Lerwick and Shetland with the cruise industry. “The sheltered and safe, deep-water anchorages and proven modern landing-stage facilities make the harbour an ideal port-of-call for large cruise ships.

Lerwick Harbour’s record-breaking cruise season will hit the first of several milestones this season on Thursday (30 June) with the arrival of Azura, the largest cruise ship yet to enter the Shetland port. The P&O Cruises vessel will arrive from Akureyri, in north Iceland, en route for Kirkwall, Orkney, with around 3,100 passengers on a 14 nights’ round-trip voyage from Southampton. On her maiden visit, the 115,055 gross tonne Azura will break the port record set by Costa Pacifica, at 114,288 gross tonnes, in June 2011. The 290-metre vessel is scheduled to anchor at around 8am with passengers transferred by tender to Albert Dock where they will be welcomed by the volunteer Meet-and-Greet team.

Members of Lerwick’s Up Helly Aa Jarl Squad warmly welcomed Viking Sea passengers ashore during her maiden call to Lerwick. The brand new 47,842 tonne Viking Sea arrived for the first time at Lerwick on Wednesday 15 June, carrying almost 900 passengers onboard as part of a 15-day cruise visiting 3 countries and 12 ports. The ship will make a return call to Lerwick on 23 June, as part of an ‘Into the Midnight Sun’ cruise from London to Norway. Representatives from Lerwick Port Authority, along with the Guizer Jarl Mark Evans and his Viking squad members, experienced the ship’s Nordic splendour and enjoyed kind hospitality from the Captain and Cruise Director during a plaque exchange ceremony onboard.

As part of a Whitsunday voyage from Bergen to Shetland, the crew and trainees will be treated to a celebratory welcome from harbour tugs Knab and Kebister when the ship arrives at Lerwick on Friday morning. Later that evening, Captain Marcus Seidl will host a reception for invited guests in the ship’s quarterdeck to mark this special occasion, with a presentation being made by Lerwick Port Authority. The ship’s 2016 itinerary includes six visits to Lerwick comprising Navy charters, sail training experiences for trainees and Norwegian student exchange trips. The ship has called at Lerwick every year since 1988 and its seasonal visits are now a regular feature on the port’s annual calendar.

The opening of the offshore season in northern waters has seen specialist oil industry vessels return to Lerwick Harbor during April to support subsea development projects. This month has also brought the first cruise ship of the year to the Shetland port for what promises to be a record-breaking cruise season. Lerwick Port Authority Chief Executive, Sandra Laurenson, commented: “The positive signs are encouraging, after a fall in traffic during the first quarter. We expect the harbor to be busy servicing field developments west of Shetland through to September, albeit in a continuing depressed market. Our best-by-far cruise season yet – significantly up on last year – will run to October, with a high level of bookings already for 2017 and beyond.

Transas signed a contract with Lerwick Port Authority to install a new Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to cover Lerwick Harbour, in Shetland. The new Transas system is required to replace Lerwick Harbour’s existing system. Lerwick is a major commercial port in Britain, strategically situated at the crossroads of the North Sea and North-East Atlantic. Handling more than 5,000 vessel arrivals, totalling over 12,000,000 gross tonnes, annually, the deep-water port’s users include fishing, oil and gas support, cargo, sailing, ferries and cruises. The new VMS will be based on the high-end Navi-Harbour software solution from Transas. Hardware equipment scope consists of Class A AIS Transponders…

The downturn in offshore industry operations, a cyclical cruise season and lower fish landings have combined to reduce activity at Lerwick Harbor in the first nine months of 2015. Sandra Laurenson, Lerwick Port Authority Chief Executive, said: “We knew that the peak activity levels we enjoyed in recent years would not continue and our forecasts for the year to date are on target to match our predictions for 2015. Vessel arrivals between January and September were virtually unchanged – up 24 at 3,874 compared to the same period in 2014, with the tonnage down 4% at 9.2 million gross tonnes, reflecting oil-related and cruise markets. Cargo handled was down 11% at 811,018 tonnes, including a 12% drop in offshore shipments.

Brian Anderson has been appointed Chairman of Lerwick Port Authority at the board’s Annual General Meeting in July. Formerly Deputy Chairman, Brian succeeds the late Harry Jamieson who was Chairman for the past four years until his untimely death in June Ronnie Gair has been appointed Deputy Chairman of the Authority. The Authority has decided to recruit a new Member to fill the vacancy on the Board from the business sector. The vacant position is for a two year term with the opportunity to stand for reappointment in 2017. Commenting on his appointment, Brian Anderson said “It is an honour to chair the Authority during these exciting times and the board remains forward looking.

Lerwick Port Authority’s Victoria Pier Car Park is having a special charity day on Saturday to coincide with the start of Living Lerwick’s Shopping Week. All proceeds from car park takings on Saturday 11 July will be match funded by Lerwick Port Authority and donated to Shetland Stroke Support Group. Lerwick Shopping Week will run from 11 to 17 July inclusive to provide a week of fun activities and events in the town centre area.  Some of the enticing promotions include meet the maker events, a Shetland Picnic, free food and product demonstrations, al fresco dining from local take-aways, a pavement art competition, music at Harrison Square, craft workshops and much much more.

The yacht Serenity, skippered by Fridtjov Bergmann, proudly flies the Bergen Shetland Blue Ribbon as first to finish this year’s race across the North Sea from Norway. He later received Lerwick Port Authority's trophy for first yacht over the line, at 20:56 hours on Thursday, 26 June, from the Authority’s Chief Executive, Sandra Laurenson. Serenity finished in under 33 hours, four minutes ahead of Scirocco III. The 30 yachts and 167 crew leave Lerwick on the second, return leg on Sunday. Totalling 388 nautical miles, the annual race was first held in 1986 and is organised by Hordaland Sailing Association in Norway, in association with Lerwick Boating Club.

The importance of investment in the Shetland fishing industry has been highlighted today by Lerwick Port Authority Chief Executive, Sandra Laurenson. The industry – white fish, pelagic, shellfish and aquaculture – is the biggest single contributor to the islands' economy, more than the four other main business categories combined. Commenting ahead of the annual Fishing Expo exhibition in Aberdeen, where the Authority will participate, Ms Laurenson said: "The trends are positive, with recent and current investment across many in the sector including new boats and vessel upgrades, modernised processing, additional infrastructure and the local supply chain.

Lerwick Harbour’s cruise season launches at the double this week, with the arrival of the first two vessels of the year on Wednesday (18 March), bringing 1,850 passengers to Shetland. En route from Andalnes, Norway, to Torshavn, Faroe, Saga Sapphire will anchor in the deep-water port while on a 12-nights Nordic Eclipse cruise, and Magellan will also anchor on her way from Invergordon, Scotland, to Reykjavik, Iceland, on a 12-nights Solar Eclipse maiden cruise. The vessels are 200 and 222 metres long, respectively. There are 48 arrivals – including six maiden visits - currently scheduled by end-of-season on 10 September, with a cumulative gross tonnage of 1,446,291 tonnes and bringing an estimated at 34,330 passengers.

Plans for significant further expansion of Lerwick Harbour’s extensive deep-water facilities for the offshore oil and gas industry have advanced with the award of a major contract to extend the quay at Dales Voe South to support subsea developments and decommissioning. Lerwick Port Authority has commissioned the Scottish business unit of civil engineering contractor BAM Nuttall as main contractor for an £11.95 million investment to lengthen the quay to 130 metres. Part of the Dutch construction group Royal BAM, BAM Nuttall specialises in complex marine construction, with a strong track record working around Scotland and on the Western and Northern Isles.

Lerwick's importance as a gateway for Shetland’s communities and industries is underlined by an increase in passenger traffic, cargo handled and fish landed in 2014. Passengers were up 11.8% to 179,352, with numbers on the roll-on/roll-off nightly ferries between the port and Kirkwall and Aberdeen increased by 2% to 135,629 compared with the previous year, despite the two vessels being off-route in sequence for a total five weeks for biennial servicing. A recovery in cruise traffic saw passengers up by 64% to 43,723. The tonnage of all cargo shipments across the deep-water harbour’s near-4,000 metres of quays increased 2% to 1,192,286 tonnes. Fish landings totalled 69,973 tonnes, valued at £61.2 million – up 4.7% on volume and down 2.4% on value.

The Board of Lerwick Port Authority is strengthening its senior management team in support of continuing activity and development at the busy harbour. The move follows an external organisational review, particularly looking at the staff resource required to sustain the high level of activity in all areas including marine operations and managing its extensive property portfolio. Recruitment to a new position of Commercial Director will commence in the new year. There are currently two executive positions on the Authority’s Board with Chief Executive, Sandra Laurenson, holding one. Harbourmaster Captain Calum Grains has been appointed to the Board in the position of Harbourmaster and Deputy Chief Executive with immediate effect.

A continuing increase in cargo handled at Lerwick Harbour in the third quarter brought the volume for the first nine months of 2014 to 910,014 tonnes, up 6% on the same period last year. Shipments included 144,243 tonnes of oil-related cargo, a rise of 4.5%. There was a 14.7% increase in passengers to 154,381, with ferry passengers on the Aberdeen and Kirkwall routes up 4% to 111,357 and cruise passengers by 61% to a record 43,024. The 3,850 arrivals were down 8%, with the tonnage of vessels lower by 8% at 9.6 million gross tonnes. As forecast, oil-related arrivals decreased, by 5.8% to 503, with the tonnage at 2.3 million gross tonnes, down 27%, in comparison to the same period last year when there was a spike in activity due to one-off projects.

Lerwick Port Authority has awarded a construction contract for the latest expansion of the harbour’s facilities in a project costing a total of £16.5 million and which will benefit the fishing and oil sectors. The new jetty at Holmsgarth North will provide deeper berthing and more working area for the fishing fleet, while the outer arm of the L-shaped jetty will create a dock sheltering a planned new white fish market. The outer arm will also be suitable for berthing offshore industry vessels. Local company, Tulloch Developments Ltd, has been appointed main contractor. Site set-up will start before Christmas and the main works in the new year, with completion in autumn, 2016. Construction is expected to employ up to 50, helping to secure employment.

The arrival of the cruise ship Norwegian Star at Lerwick Harbour today (Thursday 25 September) marks the end of the Shetland port's best season yet, with two records achieved. Passenger numbers reached a new high at 43,056, topping the previous record of 37,572 in 2012, with the vessel tonnage figure of 1,682,985 gross tonnes exceeding the record of 1,531,097 gross tonnes two years ago. Making her second visit to Lerwick after a maiden call last year, the 294-metre, 91,740 gross tonne Norwegian Star arrived from Bergen, Norway, this morning with 2,282 passengers on board, leaving later in the day for Reykjavik, Iceland. She was the 49th cruise ship of the year at Lerwick where the early start to the season in March was delayed by bad weather in the North Sea.