Copyright shetlandtimes
The SIC has warned it is still proving difficult to fill inter-island ferry vacancies - with its executive manager apologising for the “unavoidable disruption” in Bressay. Last Friday, 10 sailings on Bressay’s ferry service was cancelled due to “crew sickness and no available cover”. This led to criticism online, including calls for the SIC to “build a bridge” between the island and Lerwick. Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart said that while staff sickness “cannot be helped” the lack of available cover raised questions about how the SIC might “improve its recruitment and retention of staff”. Ms Wishart said inter-island ferries were a “lifeline” and ensuring safe travel was “critical”. Ferries manager Andrew Inkster apologised to ferry users for the “unavoidable disruption” on Friday. Mr Inkster said a number of steps were being taken to address crewing issues on the inter-island ferries. “We continue to implement changes to crew shift patterns, in line with the ferries resilience report which went to full council in September, 2024, to strengthen resilience across the service,” he added. However, Mr Inkster added there were still ongoing difficulties filling a number of vacancies within the service. “While we are seeing an improvement in interest in our vacant roles, we still have a number of key positions which remain difficult to fill,” he said. SIC environment and transport chairwoman Moraig Lyall said it was always “regrettable” when services had to be cancelled. She stressed it was only done when all other options had been exhausted. While there has continued to be disruption to the service this year, Mrs Lyall said it had significantly decreased since 2024. “The number of disruptions this year is well down which from my perspective suggests the actions we have been taking are helping improve the resilience of the service,” she said. “But there's more to do to ensure that these events can be avoided completely.” Earlier this year, a Freedom of Information request from this newspaper revealed the SIC had spent £2.4 million on agency staff to crew inter-island ferries over the last four years. The council told this newspaper at the time it would continue to deliver public services to the “best of our ability” with the resources available. Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.
