Northern Isles News

The two freight ferries serving the Northern Isles have been bought by the Scottish government. Vessels MV Helliar and MV Hildasay will join the Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) fleet, having previously been chartered from Fortress.The sister vessels operate on the lifeline routes from Aberdeen to Kirkwall, Orkney and Lerwick, said a press note from CMAL, which owns 26 piers and harbours around Scotland.Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “Our ferry services are iconic transport links that play a vital role for our island economies, so it’s important that we secure the two freight ferries for the future.“Purchasing the vessels outright will also bring financial benefits by delivering savings to the public purse over the longer term.

A deal has been agreed for the three passenger ferries serving the Northern Isles to be purchased outright by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) with loan funding from the Scottish Government. The MV Hamnavoe, MV Hrossey and MV Hjaltland, which have previously been leased from Royal Bank of Scotland, will be taken into CMAL ownership. An 18 month extension to the current Northern Isles Ferry Services contract has also been agreed to allow further progress to be made with the ongoing review of procurement policy. Serco NorthLink Ferries will continue to operate the services until 31st October 2019 under the extended contract. Minister…

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.

Activity at Aberdeen Harbour remained steady throughout 2015 resulting in the port recording a 9.7 percent increase in turnover, up from £28.9 million in 2014 to £31.7 million in 2015. Pretax profit was also up by 21 percent at £15.03 million, compared to £12.4 million the previous year. A 6 percent drop in vessel numbers, from 7,937 to 7,428 is consistent with the trend for newer, larger multipurpose vessels using the port, which is evidenced by the marginal drop in overall vessel tonnage at 27.5 million metric tons, down only 2.1 percent from 28.1 million metric tons in 2014.

Damen Shipyards Group delivered a Multi Cat 2613 on April 30, 2015 to Orkney, Scotland-based chartering company Scotmarine to be used for offshore tidal activities in Scotland’s Northern Isles. The hull of the new vessel was in stock and customized for the client earlier this year. The 50-metric-ton bollard pull vessel has a large crane and will replace the stock vessel Multi Cat Orcadia Scotmarine purchased three years ago. Scotmarine will deploy the new vessel in developing underwater tidal energy farms for Scot Renewables Tidal Power.

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.

Aberdeen Harbor has reported its results for 2013, with vessel tonnage exceeding 28 million metric tons for the second year in succession, and nearly 4.9 million metric tons of cargo crossing the quayside. Strong activity across the Harbor’s customer base was reflected in its financial results for the year, with turnover up 1.1% to £27.6 million (2012: £27.3 million), delivering pretax profits of £9.6 million. The port has continued to be buoyed by high levels of activity from the region’s oil and gas industry and from its general cargo customers…

Aberdeen Harbor Board’s annual results have revealed record vessel activity in 2012 and record levels of cargo passing through the port. Overall vessel tonnage handled by the port increased by 8%, from 25.91 million tons in 2011, to 28.19 million tons in 2012. The Harbor also saw an 8% increase in cargo handled, increasing from 4.76 million tons in 2011 to 5.14 million tons in 2012 - another record for the Port. As a result, Aberdeen Harbor’s annual turnover increased by 13% to £27.37 million from £24.06 million in 2011, recording a retained profit of £7.46 million.

Aberdeen Harbor attracted increased traffic across the first half of 2011, with both vessel numbers and tonnage on the up. Vessel numbers rose by seven percent on the same period last year to 3,746 while shipping tonnage increased from 11.6 million tonnes to 12.2 million tonnes. Total cargo tonnage also increased over the same period by 4.7 percent from 2.2 to 2.3 million tonnes. The port also recorded 590,563 tons of shipping activity during the second week of July; the highest weekly tonnage ever to be handled.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued a Press Notice stating that a new emergency towing vessel has been acquired. It is assigned to the Shetland Islands and is committed to protecting the coast of the Northern Isles. Source: HK Law

The ferries which operate the lifeline route to the Northern Isles were branded as two of the most inefficient vessels built in recent years in a new academic study, the Scotsman reported. The Napier University's Maritime Research Group report claimed that the two NorthLink ferries, which currently sail the route between Aberdeen and Orkney and Shetland, the Hjaltland and the Hrossey, should be replaced by larger and more cost-effective boats. And the research group also suggested that the move to larger vessels would require the ferries to dock at Peterhead instead of Aberdeen when they reach the mainland because the Granite City's harbor would be too small to accommodate them.