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Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that they understand what on earth is going on with the ferry consultations, yet be horribly wrong.

THREE different consultations are on the go, and while at one point all were meant to close at the end of September, it seems that a rabbit has been pulled out of a hat and one now finishes at the end of this month, i.e. responses need to be in by Tuesday!

Now, these consultations unlike many others are actually of great importance to Orkney. The Scottish Government has made it plain that it wants to spend less on our ferry services, and the Scrabster-Stromness route is being scrutinised in particular. Clearly if it were to be axed and we were left with only one route, fewer crossings, no refit cover, and no service obligation to the Scottish Government we would be much worse off. Incredibly some strident voices are calling for this, like turkeys looking forward to Christmas, and playing into the Scottish Government's hands. Equally, Northlink need to look to themselves to run a leaner operation that should require no subsidy at least at peak times, recognising that high service frequencies in winter are of major commercial benefit to Orkney, though loss making for the ferry company and deserving of subsidy. Secondary benefits such as the viability of Scrabster, Stromness and indeed Thurso should also not be overlooked. Nor should the Aberdeen-Kirkwall ro-ro service which carries a huge amount of our freight.

So what is in play just now?

1) The consultation ending on Tuesday is the one related to cost saving options on Northlink's services, with 8 suggestions put forward. These suggestions include running on fewer engines in good weather, reduced frequencies and timetable changes, and some of them do appear reasonable. Other options can be put forward, and if you feel that applying the RET underspend to offset costs, then there is the opportunity to mention it. Worth looking at to see the options.

The options and the response form can be downloaded here, and the form can be posted back to address given, or better, emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


2) Also related to the service currently provided by Northlink, but ending on 30th September, is the Northern Isles Ferry Services consulation, which is "a public consultation exercise to gather the views of individuals, organisations, businesses and operators on the future configuration and structure of the Northern Isles ferry services." This poses questions regarding fares, routes, ports to be used, freight service, whether the services should be bundled (i.e. a number of routes in one contract) or not, use of the vessels, onboard facilities etc. At present bundling works in our favour, validating a subsidised Pentland Firth route, and ensuring refit cover from the other routes- loss of this would be to detriment of Orkney as a whole.

This can be examined, and a response quickly made online, here.

3) Finally, there is the Scottish Ferries Review, the daddy of them all, which looks at all ferry services in Scotland, including such as our inter-island services. This poses fundamental questions as to how the services should be procured, how it should be paid for, what services should be looked after by the  Government, and what to do about inconsistencies from area to area, especially in the OIC and SIC situations where the councils run fleets, at great cost to their budgets. This consultation closes on the 30th September.

This can be examined, and a response quickly made online, here.

It's all important stuff- have your say, before they have their way.