Shetland Islands Broadcasting Company

With criticism of NorthLink Ferries over inadequate freight capacity both ways, incidents such as poor on-board conditions on Thursday night’s sailing from Lerwick to Aberdeen and inter-island ferries on reduced service because of crew illness, including in recent days the Whalsay service, a Scottish parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into current and future ferry provision.

Sail Training Shetland has announced that it will support twenty young adults on board Swan to take part in this year’s Tall Ships Races. This is will be the first year that Maggie Adamson has skippered the Swan for the event, although she has taken part in the Tall Ships Races many times as trainee, crew and mate.

The Referendum Bill published last week outlines that the franchise to vote will include qualifying foreign nationals and sets the referendum date for the 19th of October next year. After recent changes to the law, anyone living in Scotland, and who will be 16, or over, on the 19th of October next year, can register to vote, and that includes foreign nationals who are resident in Scotland.

Alistair Carmichael has called on the Scottish transport minister, the head of Transport Scotland and the managing director of Serco Northlink Ferries to come to Shetland to address the quality of the lifeline ferry service. Mr Carmichael wrote to the transport leaders following reports of poor conditions on the NorthLink ferry Hrossey on the Thursday night sailing from Lerwick to Aberdeen.

Five nominations were received for the remaining vacancy in the North Isles Ward of the Shetland Islands Council. They were, alphabetically: Gary Cleaver, Stewart Douglas, Sonia Robertson, Robert William Thomson and Marie Williamson, all independents. The election and the voting will take place on Thursday the 4th of August, with the votes counted and announced the next day.

College Employers Scotland and the trade unions of UNISON, Unite and GMB have settled the consolidated pay offer of 1,000 pounds to support staff, effective from September last year, alongside other improvements to terms and conditions.

The Shetland Amenity Trust has said that the 1904 built, 13 metre, Zulu fishing boat Maggie Helen, is to be moved out of the boat-shed and onto the slipway, starting Sunday evening and hopefully completed by Tuesday.