Gavin Morgan

14 November, 2006

NORTHERN isles ferry operators NorthLink have said that plans to provide 20 more cabins on their two Shetland ferries is "no done deal".

Despite this the company is confident that the refurbishment will go ahead and hope the new cabins, which will cost £1 million per ferry, will help meet the growing demand for more bunks on the boats.

The ferry company believes their plan to turn space on Deck Seven into an accommodation block is a viable option, but they are concerned about whether they can justify the financial outlay.

NorthLink's commercial director Gareth Crichton said: "There are other things that are happening in the market. We are competing with the air services, which are lowering their costs. This may have an effect on our profits, but we are hopeful at this stage."

The company has already rescheduled the service for when the two ferries Hjaltland and Hrossey will be in dry dock, though where the work will be done has yet to be decided.

The extended period needed for carrying out the refit has caused some disappointment in Shetland because it means that a day will have to be cut from the annual folk festival.

If it goes ahead the renovation programme will mean that the Hrossey will be out of commission from 26 February to 18 March and the Hjaltland from 16 April to 7 May.

The Scottish Executive controls the terms of the NorthLink contract and The Royal Bank of Scotland owns the ships. Negotiations between the three are still ongoing, with the outcome of the financial appraisal being a major point of discussion.

Mr Crichton said: "We are still a long way off from a final decision. The money needed to complete the work would have to be paid back within six years. We have to be sure the ferries will pay for themselves in this time."

At the moment there are less than 300 bunks available on the vessels, and each ship has a maximum capacity of 600 passengers.

Lack of bunks on board the vessels has been the main criticism levelled at the company since they began operating the ferry service in October 2002.

In March this year the Scottish Executive stipulated that an increase in the number of berths was a condition for NorthLink to win the new six year contract.