PROPOSALS are being drawn up to examine the possibility of using a former oil yard in the Highlands to build a new generation of catamaran ferries, it emerged yesterday.
SNP councillors revealed their suggestion for the future use of the mothballed Nigg yard in Easter Ross during a Highland Council meeting to discuss a masterplan for the site.
Under their plans, the ferries would replace the CalMac and Northlink vessels serving the Northern and Western Isles.
Councillor Maxine Smith told the planning, environment and development committee that fellow councillor Roy Pederson is putting the case to the Scottish Government.
She said: “That would need around 20 new faster ferries at least worth around £400million. They could be built with private money and this work could be done in Nigg.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Pedersen, who represents Inverness South, said: “There’s certainly more demand for new ships than can be delivered by shipyards worldwide.
“And, if current ferry policy changes, which is likely, there will be a steady demand for specialised medium-speed catamaran vehicle ferries in Scotland.”
But Stuart Innes, from consultants Halcrow, told councillors that, while shipbuilding was one of the potential market sectors examined in the masterplan, there appeared to be more potential in offshore wind energy.
Mr Innes said: “The forecast for offshore wind farms is that 7,000 offshore wind turbines must be installed by 2020 to meet the government’s renewable-energy targets.
“This is a massive opportunity and some European countries are developing purpose-built yards to take advantage of this. Nigg could also be used for recycling ships but there will be fierce competition from shipyards with dry docks such as those in France.”
Mr Innes added: “When the graving dock was refurbished in 1997 a condition was put on European funding that metal-hulled powered structures could not be built there. That doesn’t prevent naval ships such as aircraft carriers being assembled there and further work is required to see if this rule could be challenged or if it is time-bound.”
Further work is also being done to discover if the ground in the yard is contaminated by paints, solvents, shot-blast materials and asbestos.
Oil-related fabrication and marine energy generation, which is still reckoned to be 10 years from mass production, are also potential uses for the yard.
Committee chairman Ian Ross said he would welcome as many opportunities as possible for the yard to be redeveloped – and shipbuilding was among the options.
The masterplan will now be the subject of a 12-week consultation.