Shetland ferry link hopes rise with advert
A NEW ferry link between Norway, Shetland and mainland Scotland has moved a step closer to reality.
After a feasibility study, an advert seeking expressions of interest from potential operators has been placed in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The consortium promoting the link - which includes the Shetland Development Trust - yesterday said a decision on whether to proceed could now be made as early as October.
The project aims to provide a “Motorway of the Sea” between Norway and the UK mainland, linking to existing services to the Continent.
The proposed service would be based on one ferry doing two round trips a week between Kristiansund, Lerwick and a UK port. Rosyth, in Fife, is understood to be one of the options.
The initiative comes as Shetland is losing its Scandinavian ferry links after the Smyril Line dropped the islands from its schedule for 2008 because of low passenger and freight take-up.
The new service could be up and running either next year or in 2009.
The Shetland Development Trust contributed 50,000 towards the study into the potential of such a link.
