This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Northern Isles ferry service
19/07/2005
Northern Isles ferry services are set for improvements,
with today's announcement of the service specification for
services to Orkney and Shetland.
Transport Minister Tavish Scott announced the tender
shortlist and specifications, which include:
- A reduced tariff for freight on
the Aberdeen routes
- Improvements to the
timetable
- Livestock and general freight in
the new contract
Three companies, V Ships UK Ltd, Irish Continental
Ferries plc and Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd have been invited
to tender for the service currently operated by
NorthLink.
The Minister also announced that a separate new
competitive tender will be issued offering support for a
load-on load-off freight service to secure the existing
level of freight services to the islands.
Mr Scott said:
"I am pleased we are now able to move to the next stage
of the tendering exercise. Our aim is to secure these
vital lifeline services for the island communities.
"We want to build on our commitment to invest in
lifeline ferry links and harbour improvements. Orkney and
Shetland want a quality service and I am glad that we have
been able to take account of many of the views expressed in
the recent consultation. The reduction in tariffs for
freight on the Aberdeen routes should be of particular
benefit to the islands' economies.
"Once the bids have been carefully evaluated, we hope to
announce a preferred bidder early next year with the
service under the new contract starting in April
2006."
The re-tendering of the Northern Isles ferry service was
announced in April 2004. The decision to retender early was
taken following advice from NorthLink, a company jointly
owned by Caledonian MacBrayne and Royal Bank of Scotland,
that they were unlikely to be able to complete their
existing contract on current terms.
The three passenger and vehicle vessels currently
serving the route will transfer to the new operator.
The short listed companies have been invited to submit
tenders to the Scottish Executive on the basis of an
Invitation to Tender (ITT). Twenty six companies
originally noted an expression of interest from which nine
Pre Qualification Questionnaires were submitted.
A draft of the ITT service specification detailing the
requirements for the service was published in May 2004 with
38 responses received. A report on the consultation was
published on the Executive website in September 2004. A
summary of the key issues in the tender document is
available on the Scottish Executive website, along with the
Invitation to Tender document.
Freight (including livestock transport) has been
incorporated into the service specification for the new
contract. The tender requires the continued use of the
existing three roll-on roll-off passenger and vehicle
vessels. A separate scheme is being prepared to provide
assistance for load-on load-off shipping to the Northern
Isles.
The tariff levels of general freight will be reduced on
the Aberdeen/Kirkwall (Hastson)/Lerwick routes in each
direction, by the order of some 19 per cent on the Kirkwall
to Aberdeen route, and 25 per cent from Shetland. Fares
increases will be set by inflation indexing using Consumer
Prices Index (CPI).
The timescale for the present exercise allows for
tenders from the companies to be submitted within 15 weeks.
The procurement is following the general principles of the
EU Procurement Directives and the requirements of the
maritime cabotage Regulation and State aid guidelines.