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NorthLink Ferries
NorthLink Ferries (also referred to as Serco NorthLink Ferries) is an operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, as well as ferry services, between mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. Since July 2012, it has been operated by international services company Serco. History NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries The subsidised Northern Isles ferry services, previously run by P&O Scottish Ferries, were put out to tender in 1999. A joint venture between Caledonian MacBrayne and The Royal Bank of Scotland, named ''NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries'', won the contract and began operation in October 2002. A variety of factors, including competition from rival operator Pentland Ferries, the Norse Island Ferries group created by local hauliers concerned about NorthLink's proposed freight pricing, and higher-than-expected operation costs, all contributed to financial difficulties within the company. In response, the Scottish Executive Transport Group (no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Continental Group
Irish Continental Group plc is an Irish shipping and transport group. Operating roll on/roll off passenger, freight and container freight services on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Irish Continental Group also operate container terminals in the ports of Dublin and Belfast. History Irish Continental Group was formed (as Irish Continental Line) as an Irish/Scandinavian joint venture in 1972 in order to provide a direct ferry link from Ireland to Continental Europe. In 1988 Irish Continental Group was floated on the Irish Stock Exchange, followed in 1993 by a listing on the London Stock Exchange. In 1992, ICG acquired the B&I Line, then owned by the Irish Government. This broadened the Group's activities to include the short sea links with the United Kingdom, Ireland's largest trading partner, and also extended the Group's operations into container transport and port operations. Divisions *Irish Ferries Irish Ferries is an Irish fer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth-most populous European Union member state. Spanning across the majority of the Iberian Peninsula, its territory also includes the Canary Islands, in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands, in the Western Mediterranean Sea, and the Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, in mainland Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and List of largest cities in Spain, largest city is Madrid, and other major List of metropolitan areas in Spain, urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MS Helliar
''Helliar'' is a ferry owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets and operated by NorthLink Ferries. Built by Astilleros de Huelva in Spain in 1997 as ''Lehola'' for the Estonian Shipping Company she has served a number of owners and operators as ''RR Triumph'' and ''Triumph'' before her sale to Clipper Group and being renamed ''Clipper Racer''. In 2011, she was chartered to NorthLink Ferries and renamed ''Helliar''. History ''Lehola'' was built by Astilleros de Huelva, Huelva Spain as yard number 569. She was ordered on 30 September 1994 and her keel was laid on 20 October 1995. ''Lehola'' was launched on 13 November 1996 and completed on 15 October 1997. She was originally registered with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, being transferred to Det Norske Veritas on 27 November 2007. Owners From 1997 to 2005, ''Lehola'' was owned by the Estonian Shipping Company. In 2005, she was sold to Elmira Shipping & Trading and renamed ''RR Triumph''. In 2007, she was sold to the Clipper Group and renamed ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirkwall
Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub with ferries to many locations. It is the centre of the St Magnus Festival, St Magnus International Festival and is also a popular stopping off point for cruise ships. St Magnus Cathedral stands at the heart of the town. Etymology The name Kirkwall comes from the Old Norse, Norse name meaning "church bay", the settlement having been established by the Norsemen in the 11th century. As late as 1525 the name is recorded as Kirkevaag. This became in time "Kirkwaa" and then eventually Kirkwall - but how the second syllable came to be spelled "wall" is not certain. MacBain quotes F. W. L. Thomas: "How, I ask, could ''vágr'' come to be represented by wall? Whence came the ''ll''? Was it that Scottish immigrants finding the sound of ''vá'' repre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lerwick
Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland and on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland, Lerwick lies boxing the compass, north-by-northeast of Aberdeen; west of the similarly sheltered port of Bergen in Norway; and south east of Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands. One of the list of coastal weather stations of the United Kingdom, UK's coastal weather stations is situated there, with Lerwick#Climate, the local climate having small seasonal variation due to the maritime influence. Being located further north than Saint Petersburg and three of the four mainland Scandinavia, Nordic capitals, and on the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska, Lerwick's nights in the middle of summer only get dark twilight and winters have below six hours of comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stromness
Stromness (, ; ) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital. Etymology The name "Stromness" comes from the Old Norse ''Straumnes''. ''Straumr'' refers to the strong tides that rip past the Point of Ness through Hoy Sound to the south of the town. ''Nes'' means "headland". Stromness thus means "headland protruding into the tidal stream". In Viking times the anchorage where Stromness now stands was called Hamnavoe. Town A long-established seaport, Stromness has a population of approximately 2,500 residents. The old town is clustered along the characterful and winding main street, flanked by houses and shops built from local stone, with narrow lanes and alleys branching off it. First recorded as the site of an inn in the sixteenth century, Stromness became important during the late seventeenth century, when Great Britain was at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scrabster
Scrabster () is a small settlement on Thurso Bay in Caithness on the north coast of Scotland. It is some from Thurso, from Wick, from Inverness and 271.7 miles (437.2 km) from Edinburgh. Scrabster Harbour is an important port for the Scottish fishing industry. During the Second World War, munitions were ferried to Scapa Flow from Scrabster harbour aboard the 40 ft (12.2 m) pilot cutter ''Mermaid'' (registered in King's Lynn and built in 1908), skippered by Antony Bridges. Transport The NorthLink ferry () leaves regularly from Scrabster for Stromness in Orkney. Smyril Line operated a weekly service to the Faroe Islands in the summer months, but this was discontinued in 2008. The nearest railway line is the Far North Line The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minister For Energy, Connectivity And The Islands
The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity is a member of the Scottish Government who reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands. As a Junior Minister the post holder is not a member of the Scottish Government Cabinet. Overview The current minister is Jim Fairlie, who was appointed in February 2024 following Fiona Hyslop's appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Transport. Hyslop previously held the role as the junior Minister for Transport from June 2023 to February 2024. Current responsibilities include: *Energy and energy consents *Renewable energy industries *Connectivity including 100% broadband *Cross government co-ordination on islands History From the advent of devolution in 1999, the ministerial portfolios of transport and infrastructure were combined with Environment to form the Minister for Transport and the Environment. From 2000 to 2001, in the government of First Minister Henry Mc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Wheelhouse
Paul Richard William Wheelhouse (born 22 June 1970) is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands from 2018 to 2021. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region from 2011 until 2021 and Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy in the Scottish Government from May 2016 to June 2018. Early life Wheelhouse was born in 1970 in Dundonald, County Down. He was raised in Edinburgh, where he attended the independent, fee-paying Stewart's Melville College. He graduated with a Scottish MA degree in Economic Science from the University of Aberdeen and an MBA from the University of Edinburgh. He is a former member of the Conservative Party and was active in the University of Aberdeen Conservative and Unionist Association. Before entering politics, Wheelhouse worked as an economist, specialising in higher education, government policy and impact assessments for private capital pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage. The service has over 5,500 journalists working across its output including in 50 foreign news bureaus where more than 250 foreign correspondents are stationed. Deborah Turness has been the CEO of news and current affairs since September 2022. In 2019, it was reported in an Ofcom report that the BBC spent £136m on news during the period April 2018 to March 2019. BBC News' domestic, global and online news divisions are housed within the largest live newsroom in Europe, in Broadcasting House in central London. Parliamentary coverage is produced and broadcast from studios in London. Through BBC English Regions, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court Of Session
The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with other royal, state and church courts but as those were disbanded, the role of the Court of Session ascended. The Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union which established the Kingdom of Great Britain on 1 May 1707 provided that the court will "remain in all time coming" as part of Scotland's separate Scots law, legal system. Cases at trial court, first instance are heard in the Outer House by a single judge. The Inner House hears appeals from the Outer House and all other courts and tribunals in Scotland. Only Scottish advocates and solicitor-advocates may argue cases before the court. The Court of Session has sat at Parliament House, Edinburgh, Parliament House since 1707. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and the Principal Clerk of Session ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
