Fire at Gremista grid supply point

A fire broke out this morning (Friday) at the Gremista grid supply point (GSP).

Two fire engines attended the Lower Blackhill Industrial Estate at around 8.30am.

SSEN Transmission said it was a small fire affecting a mobile compressor and was quickly brought under control with no one hurt.

The company said construction work was able to start up again later in the morning and the network supply was unaffected.

Once completed next year, the GSP will allow Shetland’s energy network to connect with the mainland National Grid for the first time, reducing its reliance on the diesel fuelled Lerwick Power Station.

SSEN is assessing the damage caused by the fire but said there was no effect on the overall construction timetable.

Ferry disruption expected after new heavy vehicle guidance

Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes now need to be secured at all times while travelling on council ferries, the SIC announced.

This comes following an investigation was launched into an incident where a concrete mixer overturned on the Unst ferry.

A car was crushed and a person treated for shock after a mixer overturned and crushed a car on the deck of the Bigga on Bluemull Sound last month.

Now, Shetland Islands Council has been told by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, that all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes must be secured on the deck of vessels, irrespective of weather and tidal conditions.

Previously, the master of the vessel could apply a discretion based on the type of vehicle and the conditions on the day. Under this new direction, this discretion can no longer be applied on this route.

The SIC has been told to implement this new guidance with immediate effect.

Other inter-island ferry routes, including Fetlar, remain unaffected, and existing arrangements can continue.

Council staff  are currently working to assess the implications of this change and how best to minimise the disruption to ferry services. 

The effect of this new direction is that there will be some ongoing disruption to ferry services on Bluemull Sound while longer term arrangements are formulated and agreed.

In a statement the council said: “It is inevitable that this will impact on ferry timetables, with extra time needed for larger vehicles to be lashed. Lashings will also reduce available deck space for other vehicles travelling at the same time.”

‘You have beautiful sunsets, seals and lobsters’ says commercial diver as he is handed a year’s driving ban

A commercial diver who crashed his car and then failed to give a breath sample has apologised to the people of Shetland – praising the isles for their beautiful sunsets, seals and lobsters.

Rigger threatened to rape police officer’s wife and daughter

A 20-year-old rigger who threatened to rape a police officer’s wife and daughter has been told to “face up to what he has done” and return to Shetland for sentencing.

UDATED: NorthLink bookings now available

Folk looking to finalise their festive travel plans have been advised NorthLink is expecting to open its new year bookings “very soon”.

Fisherman taken to hospital

A coastguard helicopter went to the aid of a fisherman onboard a vessel north of Shetland this morning (Tuesday).

The R900 was called out before 9am, with the crew taking the patient back to Sumburgh Airport for a transfer into the hands of a medical team shortly before 11.30am.

Man failed to carry out unpaid work after headbutting victim in Trench Bar

A 26-year-old man who headbutted his victim and then failed to comply with an unpaid work order has been given another chance.

Heartbroken campaigner speaks of her miscarriage grief

A former Shetland resident is campaigning for baby loss rooms to be installed in all maternity hospitals across the country.

Louise Caldwell, who used to live in Bressay and Lerwick, had two miscarriages and was forced to have a stillbirth on one occasion in a labour ward, where other parents were welcoming healthy babies.

Mrs Caldwell, 41, and her husband eventually had a child together – with the full pregnancy spent in Shetland before giving birth on the mainland in 2017.

Ever since, Mrs Caldwell has been championing for women to be treated with dignity should they have the same experiences as she had.

The campaign was about “common sense and human rights”, but she said she was unable to bring about change on her own.

“I’m just a mammy from East Kilbride,” Mrs Caldwell told The Shetland Times.

While on a trip to Blackpool during the October holidays before moving to the isles, Mrs Caldwell said she knew the baby’s heart had stopped beating — days before her 12-week scan.

But even when she got the confirmation when she went to what was then called Wishaw General Hospital the following week, she was still in “shock”.

“On the way from my scan to the room in the hospital that was when I had to pass a woman who was sitting on a bed with a big, massive bump,” she recalled.

“She was hearing the baby’s heartbeat, and she was hooked up to the monitor.

“And then, when I went outside, there was a woman sitting with a big, massive bump, and little kiddies playing in the wee kid area.

“So you’re having to pass all that when you’ve literally just been told the news that there’s no heartbeat.”

Later the same day, Mrs Caldwell was taken to the back of the ward – past all of the rooms with expecting mothers – to have the stillbirth.

“I’m constantly grieving, and I’m constantly grieving for other women,” she added.

Since her experience, Mrs Caldwell’s campaign caught the eye both locally, in Lanarkshire, and at a national level.

NHS Lanarkshire’s University Hospital Wishaw – formerly known as Wishaw General – became the first in Scotland to open a bereavement suite last year.

The unit allows women to deliver stillborn babies in a separate location to labour wards. The rooms have a separate entrance, a dedicated midwife and are set away from a clinical environment.

Lerwick’s Gilbert Bain Hospital followed suit, opening the Northern Star suite a few months later.

Ahead of the 2021 Scottish election, representatives from the Scottish National Party (SNP) had become sympathetic to Mrs Caldwell’s campaign – even including a promise in their manifesto.

The SNP pledged to improve women’s healthcare in a number of ways but had stated that if elected it would “establish a dignified, compassionate miscarriage service,” and ensure “maternity departments have dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.”

Since being elected, that pledge has not been kept, with less than two years to go before another polling day.

Now, Mrs Caldwell has decided to enlist people from across Scotland to join in her fight for the compassion and dignity that women deserve.

“Now, I’m angry,” she said. “It’s something we need to get done for females.”

She has written templates of letters to send to elected representatives to urge them to support her campaign.

Mrs Caldwell added: “I can only do so much.”

To read more pick up a copy of The Shetland Times.