Ferry Service between Scotland and Scandinavia

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 13 January 2015.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of David Stewart David Stewart Labour

I am very happy to agree with that, and I am sure that the minister heard Mr Macdonald’s strong endorsement extremely well. A direct link would bring in further investment through increased tourism—which is important—and freight transport. If I have read the agenda correctly, the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee, which I will join tomorrow, is considering carrying out an inquiry into freight.

I recommend to Angus MacDonald, if he has not already read it, the book “Who Pays the Ferryman? by Roy Pedersen, an ex-Highland councillor who, I suspect, is nearer to his political perspective than mine but nevertheless has great expertise in the area of ferries. Incidentally, Roy Pedersen claims to be the inventor of the road equivalent tariff. I accept that that is perhaps not the same as discovering penicillin or inventing the radio or radar; nevertheless, RET is something to be looked at and I endorse Roy Pedersen’s expertise, which he developed in his time working for the Highlands and Islands Development Board as a young man.

Having read the book, in the few minutes that I have left, I want to really endorse a couple of principles that we should apply: we have to look at the frequency of the service; if it is a vehicle ferry, which I believe is essential, we have to look at practical issues such as the shortest feasible route; and we have to look at efficient vessel design, which is crucial for the crossing, as that will minimise capital costs and fuel consumption and perhaps avoid some of the problems that we have found with other ferry routes. There were problems with not having the correct ferry for the Gourock to Dunoon route, through Argyll.

In summary, in the few seconds that I have left, we need to look at having the right routes with the right speed, the best example of which is the P&O express catamaran service, which does 40 knots—the fastest in Scotland; we need to look at having the right port facilities; we need to avoid the problems that there have been in Dunoon, where we have not been able to use the linkspan properly, for example; and we need to have the right frequency of services.

I believe that this ferry service is a very positive idea whose time has come and I wish Mr MacDonald well with his future campaign in this area.