Scottish legislators commend ferry operator’s fight
Ferry Online Travel News 27/05/2010
Orkney ferry firm praised for service against concerted stymie efforts.
Detailing a litany of underhanded official behaviour, bureaucratic bungling, a challenging business climate and other obstructions, Members of Scottish Parliament took turns to praise Okrney ferry operator Andrew Banks for maintaining his firm’s 90-minute service in the Orkney Islands. Legislators spoke about how competition had been stymied by a combination of ineptitude, inefficiency and politics of a questionable nature.
The ferry company run by Mr Banks, Pentland Ferries, operates a service between St Margaret’s Hope on South Ronaldsay to Gill’s Bay, near John O’Groats. Mary Scanlon, Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament for Highlands and Islands, commended Mr Banks on providing a ‘first-class’ service for Caithness and Orkney. Mr Banks’s ferry company has succeeded against what Ms Scanlon described as concerted efforts to thwart competition and in spite of the fact that his service, unlike that of his competitors, benefits from no government subsidy.
In the parliamentary debate, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur said that, though he recognises the admiration Ms Scanlon has for Mr Banks and Pentland Ferries, he thought his constituents would not be impressed with her calling for the elimination of the competing Northlink service. The Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson, echoed Ms Scanlon’s praise for Mr Banks and his ferry company. He further pointed out that Pentland’s craft, though admittedly more modern, was not available when Northlink launched its service.
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