Ferries benefit from ‘indestructible’ key cards, refurbished lounges and faster internet through Elon Musk’s Starlink

Ferries returned from dry dock with refurbished lounges, faster internet and ”relatively indestructible” cabin key cards, a meeting heard.

NorthLink Ferries managing director Stuart Garrett shared the newly improved features with members of the external transport forum on Tuesday.

These included a complete overhaul of the Magnus Lounge on the Hjaltland and Hrossey.

Mr Garrett also said the new cabin key cards worked better than their predecessor.

Whereas the old boarding cards could easily be wiped and require resetting at reception, the new radio frequency identification cards were ”relatively indestructible”, according to the NorthLink boss.

He also also showed photos of cabling work which was carried out on the vessels in preparation for the introduction of electric hook-ups at Aberdeen and Lerwick ports. 

Mr Garrett said the ferries were “ready to go” and shore power would be a “great addition” to the ports. 

It will enable the vessels to switch off their diesel generators while berthed at the ferry terminal and use electricity from the port via cable hook-ups.

Mr Garrett said he hoped the system would be up and running in at least one of the ports by the time of the next forum meeting in September.

NHS Shetland chairman Gary Robinson welcomed the shore power project, which he said would be “really positive from an environmental perspective”.

However, he also raised a “long-standing bugbear” with Mr Garrett - slow internet speeds on board.

Mr Robinson said many NHS staff travelled by ferry and it was useful for them to be able to get online to work during the journey.

Mr Garrett said NorthLink had recently introduced Starlink - the satellite internet service engineered by Elon Musk’s Space X.

He said the service was up and running for his northward journey on Monday night.

And he said there were extended “nodules” throughout the vessel to achieve greater coverage.

The work was carried out during the vessels’ visit to dry dock in February and March.

The Hjaltland was delayed returning from dry dock due to a flooded pump room, which led to significant service disruption.

Thousands of RTS meters still unchanged a month before ‘switch off’

With little over a month until Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) signal is “switched off”, almost 4,000 meters are still unchanged across the isles, according to the latest Ofgem figures.

At the current rate of installation all of those meters are unlikely to replaced until next March.

After the switch off homes with RTS meters could be left with their heating either permanently on, or off, providers have warned.

The latest installation figures were shared with councillors at a meeting of the development committee this morning (Wednesday).

Since efforts began in March, 755 buildings have been equipped with new smart meters.

“At that rate of installation there will still be 3,000 meters to be replaced with the shutdown comes into effect in June,” said Douglas Irvine, the council’s future energy manager.

In fact, at that rate, all 3,930 remaining RTS meters are unlikely to be replaced until next March.

“The push now has to be to get that work done,” Mr Irvine added, “before the colder weather comes.”

Those smart meters which have been installed, meanwhile, have not all worked, he added.

Deputy leader Gary Robinson reminded the chamber that having a smart meter installed entitles customers to support even if the new equipment does not work.

Energy providers have a regulatory obligation to make sure that customers with new smart meters do not experience increased costs, or a deterioration of service. Those who do not switch could be left in the lurch come June.

“Whether they work or not, you need to get one,” Mr Robinson said.

• Councillors also discussed “rumours” that the switch off could be delayed in Shetland, or rolled out in stages. Read the full story in this week’s issue of The Shetland Times, out Friday 30th May.

Council looks to hire ’empty homes’ officer to help tackle housing crisis

Shetland Islands Council is searching for a full-time officer to analyse how many homes are currently left empty across the isles, and develop a strategy for how they might be coaxed back into use.

A graduate officer is currently preparing a report on empty homes in Shetland, which is expected before councillors by September.

That role could soon be bolstered by a dedicated empty homes officer, director of development Neil Grant told a meeting of the council’s development committee this morning (Wednesday).

Shetland has three times the number of long-term empty homes compared to the mainland average, according to 2023 figures published by the national records of Scotland.

The majority of these — roughly 150 — are in Lerwick, though the northern and eastern isles have the highest proportion of empty homes.

Shetland is one of only four Scottish councils which has neither an empty homes officer nor empty homes service — along with Moray, Midlothian and Clackmannanshire.

In other council areas, empty homes officer have worked by surveying owners to understand why their homes are empty. In severe cases some councils have enforced compulsory purchase orders to put long-standing empty homes back on the market.

Calls for weekly Bergen sailing to be included in new NorthLink contract

Calls have been raised to reinstate a weekly ferry service to Bergen as part of the next NorthLink contract.

An ‘all-wheelie bin’ service is being considered 

An “all-wheelie bin” service could be introduced to the isles – with one councillor expressing concern over the impact this could have on those living in areas exposed to the wind. 

A report placed before the SIC’s environment and transport committee on Monday stated the primary reason for this move would be to reduce the risk of injury for collection staff.

“Wheelie bins are designed with wheels, making it easy to move them to the kerb for collection, even when they are full,” the report read.

“This reduces manual handling, which in turn will reduce manual handling injuries to our bin collection staff.”

It also said wheelie bins help keep waste contained, reducing the risk of pests and unpleasant odours – which would be “especially important” for households who generate a significant amount of organic waste.

The report added wheelie bins can have a number of environmental benefits.

However, concerns were raised during the committee meeting over the impact introducing an all-wheelie bin service would have on certain households.

North Isles councillor Robert Thomson expressed worry over introducing an all-wheelie bin in areas exposed to high levels of wind – including his own home in Yell where one of his bin lids vanished.

“We live quite near the top of the hill and it’s quite exposed. We never leave our bins out all the time because they wouldn’t be there at the end of the year,” he said.

“We’ve found if we leave wheelie bins outside they are subject to damage. Not too long ago, one of the lids disappeared never to be seen again despite being anchored down with bungee chords.

“This often means we have to leave these things inside, and extra wheelie bins are taking up extra space inside which isn’t ideal.”

He questioned whether more “robust” and “strong” wheelie bins could be deployed to exposed areas.

Environment and estate operations’ executive manager Carl Symons said he was “aware” of wheelie bins made out of steel, but felt this could create its own set of challenges. 

“There will be a significant cost attached to steel wheelie bins, and there will also be a significant weight attached to those, which may offset any advantages we had.”

However, Mr Symons stressed this would be part of the consultation process of the household survey.

He added: “We realise not everyone will have or be able to accommodate a wheelie bin too easily.

“There will need to be a range of solutions looked at. I’m not for a moment suggesting wheelie bins are the magic bullet that solves everyone’s problems. We need to ask people what the problems are and how to overcome them.”

Power cut in South Mainland

A power outage has today affected homes and businesses in the South Mainland.

Engineers are working to restore the supply to over 1,900 customers.

The disruption to supply is due to a fault in the overhead network.

It is hoped power will be restored by 5pm.

The disruption to supply has forced the closure today of the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse and Visitor Centre.

POLL: Do party politics have a place in the council chamber?

Five members of Shetland Islands Council are now publicly affiliated with a political party, after Stephen Leask (Lerwick North and Bressay) was appointed local Labour chairman last month, and both Moraig Lyall (Shetland Central) and Emma Macdonald (Shetland North) threw in their hats to be the Lib Dem’s next candidate for Holyrood.

They join longstanding partisans in the Shetland South ward Alex Armitage (Greens) and Robbie McGregor (SNP).

What does that mean for a council which has for years prided itself on standing above party politics?

“It’s not been easy to be a member of the Labour party,” Mr Leask told reporter Kevin Craigens this week, while insisting that party politics and his council work can go hand in hand.

Some pundits on social media were not convinced.

Balancing the two “creates a credibility problem, is disingenuous and arguably unethical”, one constituent wrote.

What do you think — do party politics have a place in the council chamber?

Super Survey

Businesses received ‘no warning’ over cruise ship illness 

Anger has been expressed over thousands of cruise passengers coming ashore following an outbreak of gastroenteritis.

Thousands of passengers from cruise ship  Costa Favolosa has been spotted exploring the isles this week.

However, concerns were raised over a viral sickness bug breakout on the vessel – with reports of one passenger being “violently sick” during a bus tour.

Blyde Welcome’s Celia Smith said she had served many of the cruise ship’s passengers yesterday, but had “absolutely no warning” about the breakout and only learned of the situation through an off-duty tour guide.

“We could’ve been better prepared, we could’ve had more sanitiser and some businesses had face masks.

“The front part of our shop is really quite small and it was really busy and quite cramped. We were all in close proximity so we’re worried somebody might catch it – then you’ll see the ripple effect through the community.” 

NHS Shetland said the Health Protection and Environmental Health Teams had not been advised of any public health issues relating to the visiting cruise ship prior to its arrival.

However, it later became aware that a “small number” of passengers had symptoms of gastroenteritis which was being “appropriately managed” by the medical team on the vessel.