Shetland Islands Broadcasting Company

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has finally decided to enter into discussions with the GMB Union over a voluntary recognition agreement for coastguard rescue officers.

The Shetland Islands Council, the Orkney Islands Council and the Western Isles Council have joined forces to propose a pay-on-entry levy for visitors to the islands, especially cruise ship visitors, to raise money for tourism infrastructure.

Environmental campaigners and Green Party leader Zack Polanski have both separately written to UK prime minister Andy Burnham and the UK foreign secretary Ed Miiband to raise concerns about the Rosebank oil field's links to an Israeli company, Delek Group because of the company’s links with illegal settlements on the West Bank.

NorthLink’s two new 140 metre freight-flex vessels being built by the Guangzhou shipyard in China have been named following the receipt of 800 votes from members of the public. Like all the NorthLink freight and passenger vessels, the names begin with the letter “H”, with one to be named Hascosay and the other Hakon.

At the meeting of ZetTrans this week, it was mentioned that the Scottish government’s £2 bus fare cap trial “had not made much difference to the numbers of people getting on board buses. [LDRS]

Susan Murray, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Scotland in the House of Commons, has hailed the successful static test of a scaled-down launch vehicle by Scottish-Ukrainian rocket development company Skyrora.