Shetland Islands Broadcasting Company

The latest on the 9 metre Tarbert registered fishing boat Firecrest, which had one person on board when it was deliberately grounded on Bain’s Beach in Lerwick harbour after taking in water while coming into port. Attending at times have been the Lerwick coastguard rescue team, Lerwick lifeboat’s Y-boat, the tug Jenny B and the 14 metre cargo vessel Harvester.

A salvage plan is being developed to refloat the Firecrest without it sinking.

Freight and haulage operator Northwards, which emerged in a management buy-out of the former P&O Ferries freight business 24 years ago, is investing £640,000 in additional insulated trailers to meet the growing demand for salmon exports from Shetland.

The Insuliner design was first pioneered by Northwards to enable temperature-controlled fish to be transported south from Shetland.

In the latest employment statistics for Shetland there were 375 claimants in July, up 20 or 6 per cent on July last year.

At one time it might have seemed unlikely, but there now appears to be a chance of cooperation between fish producers in Scotland and those in the north-east of the United States.

An unidentified council-owned building in Lerwick is to be adapted into a Bairns Hoose’ to provide a safe environment for the multi-agency support of children and young people who have suffered harm. [LDRS]