Air / Bus / Rail / Ferry Services News
3/7/2015
NorthLink Ferries Join the Lookout for Scotland's Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
More than 12 NorthLink Ferries crew members have undertaken training to help them spot whales, dolphins and porpoise whilst sailing between the mainland and northern isles. The training marks the start of a new partnership between NorthLink Ferries and ORCA as they launch OceanWatch - a new conservation initiative that begins on 25 July aiming to monitor and collect data on marine life around the UK coastline and adjoining waters Speaking of the recent training and partnership, Captain Stuart McCallum, Marine Manager at Serco NorthLink Ferries, said: "Marine life is extremely vast and varied in the North Sea and through ORCA's OceanWatch training we hope to be able to obtain a snapshot of whale, dolphin and porpoise presence in these waters.10/5/2015
Two vessels make their debut visits to Gills Harbour
Two vessels made their debut visits to Gills Harbour on the morning of Sunday, May 10th, 2015. The mini-ships Uskmoor and Lodesman sailed across the Pentland Firth from Orkney to conduct operations in the Inner Sound of the narrow, tide-swept, channel separating Caithness from the isles.
10/5/2015
Gills Harbour Spring, 2015 - Gearing Up
Community-owned Gills Harbour is the most Northerly seaport on the British mainland, lying on the shores of the Pentland Firth's Inner Sound, just off the A 836 road, only four miles West of John O'Groats. The spring of 2015 has seen some significant developments locally, both in sea-transport and marine electricity, that bode well for the future of the little port on the inland 'apex' of Gills Bay; it belongs to the 600 people living along the North coast.
11/3/2015
Pentland Firth Works Operations - Details For Mariners
James Fisher Marine Services Booths Park House Chelford Road Knutsford Cheshire Main Contact Stan Groundwater s.groundwater[AT]james-fisher.co.uk tel 01856831380 mob 07747843712 All positions to be quoted in World Geodetic System 1984 [WGS84], lat. / long., in deg./ minutes.
18/2/2015
Pentland Ferries Increases The Fleet
Pentland Ferries is all set to buy the former Caledonian MacBrayne ferry Saturn. The move has been confirmed by the owners of the ship, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL)..
21/1/2015
Happening At Gills
The 24 metre-long multi-cat vessel C-Salvor is paying her first 2015 operational visit to Gills Harbour this week. The little rectangular-shaped 145-tonne ship is using the Scottish mainland's most Northerly port for conducting diver-led survey operations for tidal electricity developers MeyGen Ltd at its Crown Estate lease site, 1 mile off the little port, and just offshore from its planned cable-landfall site at Ness of Quoys, that lies 1 mile along the Gills Bay coast east from the harbour.
17/12/2014
Serco NorthLink Ferries to Start New Year with New Offers
Serco NorthLink Ferries has announced two new special offers to launch early in 2015. From January 2, the ‘Kids Go Free' promotion will see children travel for free on direct Lerwick to Aberdeen and Aberdeen to Lerwick routes.27/10/2014
Caithness People Urged To Give Views on New Faster Ferry Services Gills/Burwick
Independent questionnaire conducted for Pentland Ferries Ltd by 'Survey Monkey' about the desirability of a 'real' short-sea-crossing of Pentland Firth Gills Harbour, Caithness to a 'new' RO:RO terminal at Burwick, just eight miles across the water. Give Your Views In the survey HERE Folk in Caithness who travel by ferry to Orkney have only a few more days to vote if they would like to see a new route developed from Gills Harbour that would cut the Pentland Firth sea-crossing time to just half-an-hour.
22/10/2014
More Energy Related Business But Numbers Down At Wick John O'Groats Airport
Island airports soar but overall numbers dip slightly at HIAL. Passenger numbers at HIAL's regional airport fell slightly in the third quarter of the year, though a number of island airports reported soaring growth.
15/10/2014
Serco NorthLink Ferries Welcomes 2015 Bookings
Serco NorthLink Ferries is accepting bookings for travel to and from the Northern Isles for next year. Stuart Garrett, Managing Director at Serco NorthLink Ferries, said: "As ever, the year ahead is set to include a number of exciting events for both Orkney and Shetland, from live traditional music festivals to midsummer celebrations.
26/9/2014
HIAL invests for the future as passenger numbers reach all time high
Passenger numbers at regional airport operator HIAL climbed to their highest ever level in the latest financial year, as the group stepped up its investment for the future. The company's annual report and accounts for the year 2013/14 show that almost 70,000 extra passengers used the group's 11 airports during the year.23/9/2014
Gills Harbour At Biggest Electricity Conference
Scotland's most Northerly port represented at 2014 biggest conference of the year devoted solely to electricity from the seas. The managers of the Scottish mainland's most Northerly port, on the shores of the Pentland Firth's Inner Sound, were represented at this week's Marine Conference in Inverness organised by trade representative body Scottish Renewables (SR).17/9/2014
Leask Marine Collects Award
At the Fourth annual Energy North Awards held in Inverness saw Leask Marine collect the top award for the Best Renewable Energy Service Supplier. Organised by Energy North the event recognises the important contribution companies from across the region make to the success of the renewable energy and supply chain industries.
5/9/2014
Technical Data Gathering In The Pentland Firth
The Most Extensive & Practical Science and Engineering Project in Far North of Scotland (Caithness) perhaps since Dounreay's Operational Closure in 1994 Takes Place this Month (09.2014) from Gills Harbour: turbulence in tidal-streams. The most extensive science and engineering research project to take place in Caithness for many years is occurring this month (September, 2014) from a base at Gills Harbour, on the shores of the Pentland Firth's Inner Sound.
18/7/2014
Island airports deliver passenger growth for HIAL
Passenger numbers at HIAL's regional airports grew by almost 8000 during the last quarter, with the group's island airports driving growth. Latest figures for the last quarter (April - June) show that passenger numbers at HIAL’s 11 airports grew by 7806, an increase of 2.2% on the same quarter last year.
6/6/2014
Delegates To Innovation Conference Visit Gills Harbour
GILLS BAY/PENTLAND FIRTH'S INNER SOUND VISIT BY DELEGATES TO TOP-LEVEL INNOVATION CONFERENCE HOSTED BY THURSO'S ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, PART OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS. A top team of Scottish-based scientists, engineers and academics sailed out to the Pentland Firth's Inner Sound from Gills Bay on a fact-finding mission to see at first hand the fast-flowing waters above the seabed site of the UK's first planned 'marine electricity' power-station.
30/4/2014
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing MSP to visit Gills Harbour
Scotland's Energy Minister Mr Fergus Ewing, MSP, has promised to pay a visit to Gills Harbour, on the shores of the Pentland Firth's Inner Sound. The Minister made the pledge to harbour company chairman Mr Bill Mowat, prior to Mr Ewing providing a keynote speech to the annual Scottish Highland Renewable Energy Conference in Inverness on April 24th.14/4/2014
HIAL Airports Record Busiest Ever Year
* Energy sector drives huge growth at Sumburgh and Wick John O’Groats * Extra 70,000 passengers across the group * Sumburgh is Scotland’s fastest growing airport * Inverness enjoys best performance for five years * But smaller airports affected by reduced capacity Scottish regional airport operator HIAL has recorded its busiest ever year, attracting an extra 70,000 passengers over the past 12 months, according to latest figures. HIAL’s 11 airports handled 1,367,342 passengers in the 2013/14 financial year, an increase of 5.4% on the previous year (an additional 69,666 passengers).
9/4/2014
FloWave Test Tank Facility Can Simulate Pentland Firth Conditions
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY'S MULTI-MILLION POUND BRAND-NEW 'FloWave TT' FACILITY IS A WORLD-LEADER THAT CAN SIMULATE ACTUAL PENTLAND FIRTH WAVE AND TIDAL SEA-CONDITIONS. One of the biggest and most complex scientific instruments ever devised and built in Scotland will be 'in commercial action' for the first time this Spring (2014) at its site near Blackford Hill in Edinburgh.
8/4/2014
