The latest activity figures for Shetland’s main harbour underline the growing importance of the cruise liner and offshore decommissioning sectors there, Lerwick Port Authority (LPA) said yesterday.
LPA statistics confirmed a record 50,768 passengers arrived aboard liners during the recently ended 2017 season, with advance bookings promising even more next year.
Although the port is still feeling the effects of the oil industry downturn, work is being carried out on decommissioning the Buchan Alpha rig and the authority is continuing to seek further similar projects. A new fish market is also due to be built in Lerwick next year.
LPA chief executive Sandra Laurenson said: “While the effects of the oil-industry downturn will continue to be felt in 2018, there are positives going forward. There is the scheduled record cruise season; continuing work on Buchan Alpha and tendering for other decommissioning projects; an expected increase in the year-round roll-on/roll-off freight service as a result of the shift from containers; and the prospect of additional ro-ro passenger sailings, with no interruptions for scheduled maintenance.
“Construction of the new white-fish market will begin in early 2018.”
Overall passenger numbers for the nine months to the end of September were static at 158,608, with the figure for people using the roll-on/roll-off ferries to Orkney and mainland Scotland down 1% to 107,840, compared to the same period in 2016. Both ferries were off-service for maintenance earlier in the year.
Tonnage of all vessels during the period, at 9.4million gross tonnes, was down 6% for the nine months, with vessel arrivals 9% lower at 3,629 due to fewer oil supply and anchor handling vessels, fishing boats, workboats and the withdrawal of the Streamline container service in August. The total tonnage included Buchan Alpha, the 15,000tonne former North Sea floating oil production unit, which arrived in Dales Voe in August.
Cargo for the nine months was down 4% at 701,427 tonnes, while there were 166,665 boxes of white-fish landed – up 5% on the same period last year, with an average price of £1,886 per tonne up 13%.