Hopes are high for harbour
Council hand the facility over to major ferry firm
Harbour Board chair Chris Ahern, PKC environment director Barbara Renton and CalMac managing director Robbie Drummond meet by the quayside Perth and Kinross Council officials yesterday marked the hand over of the running of Perth Harbour to CalMac by meeting its managing director to further discuss its plans for the port.
Local authority representatives met Robbie Drummond in the morning to mark the transfer of harbourmaster duties to the company at the start of the month in a move councillors hope will boost throughput at the listless local authorityowned dock.
The move was agreed as part of continuing efforts to plot a new course for the struggling inland port, which has seen a marked decline of trade in recent years because shippers tend to charter larger vessels to transport goods which it cannot accommodate.
Councillors heard last year officers were considering “other commercial opportunities” for Perth Harbour such as “using [it] as a base for specific fleets or passenger traffic” and it is understood CalMac staff will continue this work in their new role.
Perth City Centre councillor Chris Ahern, who is chair of the Perth Harbour Board, yesterday welcomed the link-up with CalMac saying: “As part of the proposals in the Perth Harbour Business Plan, putting in place an experienced third party to take on the operational responsibilities for the facility was a key element.
“I am optimistic that, through CalMac’s new day-to-day role, the level of business brought through the harbour can be increased and its place within the city’s commercial business operations is enhanced, adding to the vibrancy of Perth and reflecting our location in the centre of Scotland and the easy direct access to trunk roads to all parts of the country.
“This is a welcome opportunity to work with a major Scottish firm which the harbour board has fully got behind and together with the council, we are focused on a brighter future for Perth Harbour.”
Mr Drummond commented: “We are delighted to be working with PKC to further develop Perth Harbour as a valuable asset for the city.
“We see the potential, and will be bringing our experience of running 26 harbours across the west coast to deliver the commercial opportunities that we believe are there to be realised.”
He went on: “This is just the beginning of the latest chapter of CalMac’s ambitious expansion plans.
“We recently took on the management of Marchwood Military Port in Hampshire on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, and the award of this contract is further evidence of our desire to take our transport operations expertise and expand into new geographic markets.”
We are delighted to be working with PKC