Following a public meeting convened and chaired by Cllr Marc Macrae he commented -
“Since being elected as a Moray Councillor one subject which is continually raised with me is that of the MV Selkie, the Moray Council owned and operated dredger which was commissioned by the previous council to replace the Shearwater.
“Frustrations have run high over the last few years with the public perception that the vessel spent more time tied up in Buckie harbour than it did fulfilling the role the multi million pound vessel was designed for.
“With feelings running high across Moray communities and continued mention of the situation in committee, in the local press, in public and indeed across social media platforms I felt that the best way to air the views of harbour users across the area was to convene a public meeting.
“On Friday 17th January I was delighted to chair a meeting in the Fochabers Public Institute which was attended by over 40 interested parties, commercial boat owners, leisure owners as well as representatives from local communities and education.
“Whilst all local authorities are feeling the pinch as the budget from the Scottish Government gets less and less each year, it is easy to see how harbour users can feel extremely dissatisfied with their charges having increased more than tenfold in recent years with little to no obvious return.
“The meeting was clear that communications between users and the council more often than not fell on deaf ears and whilst a number of harbour advisory committees meet there seems little appetite to better engage with those using our harbours.
“One gentleman told the meeting that if he didn’t like the situation then he was free to take his vessel elsewhere, perhaps a flippant comment but one which had been made to numerous others also in attendance.
“I am grateful to all those who attended and for the positive discussion which was held. I will be following up on the issues which were highlighted with council officers in the days to come.”
Also attending the meeting was Douglas Ross MP for Moray who added –
“I was grateful to my Scottish Conservative colleague Cllr Macrae for organising the meeting and the turnout showed how important this issue is for many people in Moray. During my time as a councillor the issue of the dredger came up regularly over the years; both the original vessel and the many meetings deciding the replacement.
“I fully understand how frustrated boat owners and operators are when they face very small windows to navigate freely and safely in and out of Moray ports, yet at the same time they read in the papers how successful the Selkie has been operating in other harbours across the country.
“This is even more galling when local charges increase but the ability to safely use their vessels in our harbours decreases.
“With a room full of interested parties from across Moray, all echoing the same concerns, I will be raising these matters with the Chief Executive of Moray Council. We need to see an improvement in the service provided here in Moray, before we look at assisting areas further afield.”
Councillor Tim Eagle (Buckie) and Conservative Council Group Leader also attended the meeting and commented –
“I fully support Councillor Macrae in his actions to bring together harbour users from our ports. As is often the case it is vital for councillors to hear directly from service users to better understand issues of concern.
“It became clear throughout the meeting that effective communications was not being made between the council and the users, across the board from our smaller harbours – Hopeman, Findochty, Portknockie and Cullen and our larger commercial ports Burghead and Buckie.
“Cllr Macrae himself comes from a family with many generations of direct links and experience of the fishing industry across the Northeast and I welcome this local knowledge which not all councillors may have when it comes to best understanding operational concerns of vessel owners.
“I was shocked to learn at the meeting that Gordonstoun School with a proud history in Moray are possibly being faced with moving their nautical curriculum courses to ports out-with Moray. Having offered seafaring experience for over 85 years from Hopeman harbour it would be a disgrace and travesty if we were to lose this.”
Summing up Councillor Macrae added –
“The Moray coast line has a long history and connection to the sea. Dredging is not a new science or technology it has always been a necessity for the safe operation of a port where problems of silt exist.
“I was pleased to hear the leader of the council (Graham Leadbitter) say that if things have not changed significantly by the summer he would be very concerned. Well we will be monitoring the changes and look forward to holding him to that in a few months. A member of the audience followed this up by asking if I would convene another meeting in 9 months time, which I would be more than happy to do should the situation remain unchanged.
“With the potential sea of opportunity around the corner following Brexit and the increase in ship building and maintenance, it is vital that our harbours are fit for purpose and I would echo the comments of those who attended that the councils own dredger should maintain the council harbours with the maximum priority, with any secondary contract hire out of the area clearly a bonus, but should not be to the detriment of our own service users.”
