MSP urges rethink over ferry couchettes

MSP Tavish Scott is urging Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson to change his mind and to allow NorthLink to provide sleeping couchettes on the ferries serving Lerwick.

He has argued that there is a desperate need for more berths on the ferries in the face of evidence that lack of sleeping accommodation is discouraging tourists from coming to Shetland and causing great inconvenience to local people.

Mr Scott told the minister: “The reason NorthLink looked at the couchette proposal was the rising passenger numbers on their services to Shetland and the resulting pressure on cabin and bunk spaces, particularly in the holiday periods. That is a very real problem on the ferries and there is therefore widespread disappointment that this practical solution is not being pursued.”