With £230m invested in future-proofing Orkney's harbours, the archipelago will remain at the heart of Scotland's renewables revolution for decades to come – but ambitious plans to transform Scapa Flow into a new 'future fuels hub' may require further support, says Colin Cardwell

 

Orkney is long used to significant infrastructure projects that belie its challenging location north of the wild Caithness coastline.

Orcadians have, after all, had 5000 years of practice since the Ring of Brodgar was constructed and which dramatically reshaped our ideas about the sophistication of Neolithic society. 

Innovation on the archipelago is thriving, most recently exemplified by the Islands Growth Deal, an investment package worth up to £393 million signed this month in Orkney by UK ministers and local council leaders, and which is expected to result in up to 1,300 jobs and is a joint development by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Shetland Islands Council and Orkney Islands Council, with other partners. 

For Paul Olvhoj, business development manager at Orkney Islands Council’s Marine Services, the islands’ Harbour Authority has a vital role to play. “Clean fuels for shipping will be a critical requirement to achieving the UK and Scottish Governments’ net zero targets by 2050 and 2045 respectively. 

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“Without a strong level of both public and private investment there is a risk that Scotland will miss the window of opportunity presented by offshore wind particularly around port infrastructure – this will be critical to diversifying and strengthening the local economy and the future of Orkney’s piers and harbours.”

The importance of this is hard to understate, as it will harness further investment to consolidate Scapa Flow, Europe’s largest natural deep-water harbour, as the UK’s optimal location and gateway for energy transition and decarbonisation. 

Scapa Flow has already become pivotal for ship-to-ship transfer operations, marine support services for offshore wind farms and the diversification of Flotta Oil Terminal from high-carbon fuel reliance to a world-class centre for the research and development of low and zero carbon fuel technologies.

Last autumn, a new 32-metre ocean-going tug, Freyja of Scapa joined two other new vessels Odin and Thor to augment harbour operations, being used for ship handling, towing and escort. Each is built to full tanker escort capability with a bollard pull ahead of 78 tonnes and a speed of 14.3 knots. 

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Orkney's new ocean-going tug, Freyja of Scapa joined the fleet in the autumn. 

 

“They work with tankers around Scotland’s ports and have been manoeuvring offshore wind components at Cromarty, so they are a big asset and a major sign of investment by the Islands Council.”

The £230 million Orkney Harbours Masterplan, launched in 2020 underpins the strategy for the Harbour Authority, outlining the development and future proofing of the 29 piers and harbours of the port’s estate, the largest of which is Scapa Flow, Europe’s largest natural harbour, an area of 125 square miles of sheltered water that provides a huge range of berthing and anchorage options.

Importantly, Orkney is also northern Europe’s preferred location for the ship-to-ship transfer of crude oil, gas and other products, plus the long-term storage and lay-up of tankers and accommodation rigs and the masterplan is focused on placing the islands at the forefront of a cleaner and greener future for Scotland.

Achieving this involves Orkney working with both technical advisors and environmental consultants, in three phases to complete the project. That begins of course, says Olvhoj, with putting shovels in the ground.

“The first challenge is getting consent in place. That in turn will lead to planning permission but alongside that is funding – and it's obviously critical that we get a funded financial strategy for these developments. 

“The market is expanding hugely not just in terms of the numbers of wind turbines expected in Scotland but in current pipeline projects. And while we are trying to optimise the opportunity, we must of course de-risk it for Orkney and the Islands Council who are our owners and leverage funding into the projects.”

“Reducing carbon emissions from industry on both land and sea is the biggest current challenge and achieving this through exciting emerging technologies being developed in the waters around the islands against an acceptable level of cost is key to the port’s success,” he says. 

“We’re aware that this window of opportunity we have is limited so we're having to work at speed to ensure that our port infrastructure is progressing quickly and ready to go. We also must work with the region, the rest of Scotland and the UK to ensure that that comes into place for the benefit of us all.” 

The recent selection of the Port of Cromarty Firth to host the region’s first green freeport port is, he says, of major importance, for the whole of the Highlands and Islands. “We were delighted to hear that Cromarty was successful and anticipate working with them in areas that involve forward assembly and storage.”

In common with nearby ports, he’s encouraged by positive signs of recovery in the cruise ship market since the Covid pandemic abated. “There’s definitely a step change in that area of the business and if you regard 2022 as the return to ‘normal’, we are looking to have a record year in 2023,” he says.

“Companies visiting the port include UK firms such as Ambassador and Saga, plus German cruises originating in Kiel or Hamburg and those who take in Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the Arctic. So, we’re effectively servicing three main routes with some 27 lines calling here including vessels with up to 4000 passengers on board.” 

The ability to plug cruise ships into sources of local renewable energy is clearly an objective and as Olvhoj points out, the planning permissions given for onshore windfarms in Orkney will enhance interactions with cruise companies to ensure that shore power and future fuels are integral to ongoing projects. 

“All these developments underline the chance to exploit exciting economic advantages but also, in a remote and largely rural archipelago, the needs of the local community must be sensitively addressed,” says Olvhoj. 

“Creating jobs in the green energy sector and in our excellent supply chain is vital,” he adds. 

“The Harbour Authority is in regular discussion with the community to make sure we’re moving in the right direction with the masterplan, while forming links with schools and talking to the coming generation of technicians and engineers who will ensure our future prosperity.”