Council has its eye on second hand vessel to prop up struggling ferry service

The SIC hopes to secure a second hand vessel to prop up its struggling inter-island ferry service.

Ferries manager Andrew Inkster confirmed the council was keeping “an eye on” a particular ferry..

He said the vessel was not currently up for sale but could become available in the near future.

His comments came during discussions of a ferry resilience review, which follows a number of high profile service disruptions this summer.

Infrastructure director John Smith acknowledged there had been a “very large number” of formal complaints resulting from one of the periods of disruption.

Mr Smith said one of the major issues was with staff recruitment and retention.

And he said the “headwinds and tide are pushing against us”.

Mr Smith said the current proposals were needed to “keep the bloat afloat”.

However, he said the more long-term solution would be found in the Inter-Island Connectivity Plan, which is looking at the possibility of tunnels.

The meeting heard the SIC had enjoyed some success in recruiting trainee seafarers to plug gaps in the staffing.

However, Mr Smith said it was very difficult recruiting in some of the outer island populations due to depopulation and ageing populations.