Shetland Islands Council

07/22/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/22/2025 04:20

Consultation on Northern Isles Ferry Services

Northlink ferry 'MV Hrossey'. Credit: SIC

Transport Scotland has today opened a consultation on the next contract for the Northern Isles Ferry Services (NIFS) which expires on 30 June 2028.

The current contract is operated by Serco Northlink Ferries Ltd and delivers a ferry service to connect Orkney and Shetland with the Scottish mainland.

The Transport Scotland consultation is now open and runs for 12 weeks, to gather views of communities and key stakeholders to inform and shape the detail of the next NIFS contract.

The link to respond to the consultation is available at: https://consult.gov.scot/transport-scotland/northern-isles-ferry-services-4/

Councillor Moraig Lyall, Chair of the Council's Environment and Transport Committee, and ZetTrans, said: "The Northlink service is our lifeline ferry connection to the Scottish mainland, and I'd urge everyone with a view on future services to respond to this Transport Scotland consultation. I know that many Shetlanders have strong views on how the service could be improved to better meet their needs - this is the chance to have direct input into the process that will determine the details of the service for the next decade. It's vital that the next ferry contract takes full account of the views of our community and businesses"

Published: 22nd July 2025

Shetland Islands Council published this content on July 22, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 22, 2025 at 10:21 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]