Shetland Islands Council has made a small profit on the sale of its two largest tugs to an Italian port.
This week SIC infrastructure director Maggie Sandison revealed that while the tugs Solan and Bonxie had failed to reach their market valuation, overall their sale had contributed £70,000 to the council’s coffers.
The two tugs have been a thorn in the council’s side since they were purchased five years ago as part of a drive to reduce Shetland’s oil port to a three tug operation.
The plan failed when the Spanish-built tugs developed handling problems, with crews eventually refusing to board them after Solan collided with the tanker Loch Rannoch in December 2011.
Since then the vessels have been substantially overhauled to resolve their problems.
Meanwhile the council has decided to return the port at Sullom Voe to a four tug operation using smaller vessels.
Sandison said there had been several expressions of interest in chartering the two 41 metre tugs, but the council had decided to accept an offer from Venice-based Rimorchiatori Riuniti Panfido for their port operation in Naples.
She stated the council had made no loss on the £14 million it spent on the two tugs in 2011.
“The final figure will be reported to the council in the future, but at this stage I am able to say that the sale plus the harbour fees and charges for the use of the tugs during the period they worked here has been fully recovered, with a £70,000 profit,” she said.
Sandison explained the full value had not been attained because of the depressed state of the tug market caused by the downturn in the oil industry.
The very public airing of the vessels technical problems had not helped, she added.
“If we had been another port no one would have known the history of the tugs.”