Moray Council has hired a £300,000 external dredger to maintain Buckie Harbour in place of its own vessel.
The £2.5 million local authority-owned Selkie was launched in 2016 with promises it would save public money while raking in cash from other hires.
However, the dredger has been beset with problems due to crewing and maintenance issues which has reduced its time at sea.
Now Moray Council has hired in outside help to maintain both the Buckie and Burghead ports amid concerns from coastal communities Selkie is not up to the job.
Meanwhile, land-based diggers are also being investigated for Hopeman and Cullen harbours due to concerns Selkie struggles to access the inner basins.
‘Selkie so frustrating for coastal communities’
Moray Council has hired the Danish-registered Aase Hoj dredger to ensure safe access to the harbours in both Buckie and Burghead.
The authority has made an agreement with Ocean Winds, which is behind the Moray West offshore wind farm, to ensure the harbour entrance and two basins are 10ft deep, which is more than all other boats need.
Selkie has been maintaining the port for the last seven years, but a council report says “significant” extra dredging is needed to get it to that depth.
Marc Macrae, chairman of Moray Council’s economic development and infrastructure committee, explained Selkie was unable to get to the depth required.
However, he admitted the sight of another dredger arriving to do the work of the local boat would be “frustrating” for communities.
He said: “It bugs me that we have got our own boat we could hire out and Aberdeenshire Council will also use a Danish dredger just 20 miles along the coast in Banff and Macduff.
“It’s so frustrating for our harbour users that we have this asset that everyone sees sitting there doing nothing.
“Then, at the same time we are trying to keep services alive, we have to hire in an expensive boat because it can do the job better than the one we have.”
Meanwhile, a sandbank has developed at the entry to Burghead which has led to complaints from boats unable to get to sea.
The same council report says “significant” dredging on top of the work Selkie has been doing is also required at the harbour.
Moray Council says both ports will be able to maintained by Selkie once the extra dredging has been done.
A spokeswoman added: “The contract for the external dredger was procured in order that we could get a higher amount of work down in a shorter period of time.
“The specific outcomes for which it was hired are expected to be completed this month. The Selkie is still operational and remains our main resource.”
How is Moray Council’s dredger doing?
Selkie is tasked with dredging Moray Council’s harbours at Buckie, Burghead, Findochty, Portknockie, Cullen and Hopeman.
During 2022/23 it worked 94 days, an increase of the 77 it worked in 2021/22 and 38 in 2020/21 due to it needing less maintenance.
It is hoped hiring the external dredger will free up Selkie to work elsewhere.
Buckie councillor Sonya Warren said: “The two dredgers are very different, have different equipment and can work in different conditions.
“The work being done in both Burghead and Buckie is time-critical. Hiring the second dredger allows the Selkie to continue with the normal work schedule.”
Moray Council is still advertising Selkie for hire to other ports despite limited uptake to date.
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