I am pleased to have the opportunity to highlight in the chamber the need for a direct passenger and car ferry link between the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, which has been of concern to me and campaigners for some time. I thank all the members who signed my motion, particularly those on the Opposition benches, as that has enabled me to bring the issue to the chamber.
I am highlighting the issue here today because I feel that we are missing a trick in not attracting tourists with a high disposable income to Scotland and are missing out on a direct transport link for Scottish exports from Central Scotland and beyond.
In recent years, we have seen the demise of historic direct passenger ferry routes between the UK and Scandinavia. In September 2008, the last ferry sailed from Newcastle to Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen in Norway, breaking a service that had lasted for 130 years.
Last year, DFDS Seaways announced that it had decided to withdraw the service between Harwich and Esbjerg in Denmark, which in effect means that there is now no direct passenger car ferry between the UK and Scandinavia.
There are, of course, small campaigns on both sides of the North Sea calling for the reintroduction of those services. One that seems to be gaining significant traction and support is the international campaign for the ferry to Norway, which has demonstrated that there is considerable demand for the return of a UK to Norway ferry link. It has gathered a significant volume of evidence from campaign supporters and tour operators in the United Kingdom and Norway and throughout the Nordic region.
The ICFN highlights Office for National Statistics reports of a 48 per cent rise in visitors from Norway to the UK. Further analysis of those statistics shows that, in 2013, there were 1.175 million travellers between Norway and the UK. It is said that approximately 8 per cent of that figure would be required to make a UK to Norway ferry route a profitable ferry passenger service.
That is all well and good, but clearly will and investment from the private sector are required to make it happen, as there are, as always, state aid issues that hinder direct financial support from Government.
There is a glimmer of hope that the recently established firm Norwegian Seaways will resurrect the Newcastle to Norway service which, if successful, would reintroduce the historic service and mean that high-spending Norwegians would return to Scotland. The service would give Norwegians the opportunity to visit Scotland’s vibrant cities and our rich and historic countryside, and would allow us to capitalise on good will towards Scotland from our Nordic neighbours.
We should not forget that the citizens of the Nordic countries are statistically some of the most frequent travellers in the world, with nearly 50 per cent of their travels being to a foreign country. The Scandinavian countries also have some of the highest average incomes per capita; Norway is at the forefront, with an average per capita income of more than £42,000. Our tourism industry could do with some of that.
Of course, there are legitimate commercial reasons for the withdrawal of the previous services. The DFDS ferry service from Harwich to Esbjerg was abandoned in part due to high fuel costs, which, as we have seen in recent months, are no longer the issue that they were.
Ship operators are also nervous about the increasing costs from the new sulphur reduction regulations that the International Maritime Organization has set. Ships that pass through an emission control area, including northern European waters, must now cut their sulphur emissions or face fines. The regulations demand that ships cut sulphur content in the fuels that they use to 0.1 per cent, compared with a sulphur content of up to 3.5 per cent that is allowed under the current rules.
The new directives have been set to help to reduce the amount of emissions, and to meet them shipping and ferry services are required to use low-sulphur fuel or to fit their engines with a sulphur filtration system.
I know that fuel producers are already addressing the issue. In my Falkirk East constituency, Ineos, the operator of the Grangemouth refinery, has installed sulphur recovery units at considerable cost, which will go some way towards addressing the issue. As time moves on, therefore, we will see the arguments against the introduction or reintroduction of the ferry routes diminishing.
Given that there are fewer hurdles in the way of commercial operators that wish to start new services, I hope that the Scottish Government, perhaps in partnership with the Scotland Office, Scottish Development International and interested regional transport partnerships, will investigate the feasibility of establishing a new ferry link between Scotland and our neighbours across the North Sea.
We are watching closely to see whether there is any prospect of the Newcastle to Norway service being introduced. If that ferry service were to be resurrected in the near future, there would be no need for a Scottish service.
I am aware that Fergus Ewing, the Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism, has been actively involved in talks with the north east local enterprise partnership in England, and I hope that resurrection of the ferry service to Norway was one of the main items for discussion. Joint working between the Scottish Government and the north east LEP would clearly benefit the economies of both Scotland and the north-east of England.
If the Newcastle service is not to be resurrected, there should be no doubt that a direct link between Scotland and the Scandinavian countries could provide a valuable connection, which would aid an increase in trade and an increase in tourist footfall from Scandinavian citizens with high disposable incomes.
In my view, there are two options that would benefit Scotland directly: first, a Rosyth to Norway/Denmark service; and, secondly—albeit less likely—an Aberdeen to Norway service. Rosyth already has passenger terminal facilities in place, which it uses for visiting cruise ships. I have had informal discussions with Forth Ports officials, who would welcome approaches from interested ferry operators. Clearly, however, that would require significant financial investment from ferry operators and good will from local and national Government on both sides of the North Sea.
Approximately five years ago, Norwegian ferry operator Fjordline considered an Aberdeen to Stavanger/Bergen service. However, I checked recently with the chief executive officer of Fjordline, Ingvald Fardal, who confirmed that the shipping company does not currently have any plans to establish a new route from Stavanger to Aberdeen; its priorities for the next few years are its existing three routes between Norway and Denmark and one route between Norway and Sweden. Encouragingly, though, its evaluation is that there could be a market for a service between the UK and Norway during four to six of the summer months. Mr Fardal cited autumn, winter and early spring as having limited potential, primarily due to increased competition from budget airlines such as Ryanair and Norwegian Air Shuttle. The other Scottish option, from Rosyth to Norway or Denmark, or a triangular route between all three, would be a much more viable option.
We have a small number of options, which, with co-operation, could be a reality. With the recent reduction in the cost of fuel, those options become even more realistic and not just part of a wish list. With the backing of the Scottish Government, Scottish Development International and local transport and enterprise partnerships, we can see the return of that historic link with our Nordic neighbours. I look forward to cross-party consensus on this issue as we get closer to our goal.
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