Hans J Marter

26 July, 2007

A NEW ferry link between Norway, Shetland and the UK mainland could be in place as early as this October, according to a consortium promoting the route.

Potential operators are being invited to tender for the service with an advert already seeking expressions of interest in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Yesterday (Wednesday) Shetland Development Trust said it had been encouraged by the outcome of a feasibility study into the viability of such a project.

The trust is one of three partners in the newly formed consortium NORSHUKON Link, alongside the Shetland transport partnership ZetTrans and a group of public and private interests in mid Norway, called Møregruppen AS, based around the oil town Kristiansund.

The initiative comes in the wake of Shetland losing its traditional Scandinavian ferry links after the Faroese Smyril Line dropped the islands from its 2008 schedule, despite the isles owning a 20 per cent stake in the firm.

ZetTrans chairman Allan Wishart yesterday stressed that this latest initiative could not be compared with the Smyril debacle, as no capital investment would be involved. The service would also have to prove it could pay before it was introduced, he said.

"This is different (to Smyril), because what we are talking about is having operators interested in running the route, and that will depend upon the amount of trade - freight and passengers - that can be attracted.

"These early stage moves are really testing the viability. There is no decision to invest a lot of money into the system. The only money invested so far is into the feasibility study, and only once that is fully assessed, plus the reaction from the potential operators can the way forward be decided upon," Mr Wishart said.

NORSHUKON (an acronym for the areas involved in the project) wants to provide a "motorway of the sea" link between Norway and the UK mainland linking in to existing services to Europe.

The service could shift freight from road to sea so it reached European markets more quickly. It would probably involve one ferry doing two round trips a week between Kristiansund, Lerwick and a UK port, with Rosyth being one of the favoured options.

Jon Aasen, the leader of the regional council for Western Norway, said his region depended on efficient transport routes. "Continuing road traffic congestion, driver shortages, rising road transport costs and environmental impacts of long road transport means we must continually endeavour to
improve our transport connections," he said.

SDT chairman Josie Simpson said the ferry service would bring "considerable economic and environmental benefits" for the regions involved.

"We welcome the increased choice which this service will afford to customers in both the visitor and freight sectors, travelling between the UK mainland and Shetland as well as the continuation of the historical link which exists between Shetland and Norway," he said.

The consortium hopes to have preferred bidders in place as early as the middle of next month, with the preferred operator to be announced in October. The service could up and running in 2008, or 2009 at the latest.

SDT contributed £50,000 towards a feasibility study into the potential of such a ferry link with match funding from the Møregruppen.

The trust refused to release the results of the feasibility study saying it contained confidential and commercial information.