Judge Turns Down Shetland Lines Claim on Ferry Services

NorthLink Ferries UKs Shetland Line has received a rejection of its BGP 12.7 million claim against the Scottish government related to a ferry services contract for the Northern Isles, BBC informed. The company issued the claim after the six-year contract, running from 2012 to 2018, was awarded to its compatriot Serco Ltd. Due to its suspicions of foul play on the part of the Scottish government, Shetland Line raised a commercial action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh stating that there was a breach of public contract regulations. A judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland, Raymond Doherty, was quoted by BBC as saying that there was no arbitrariness and no lack of transparency in the evaluation process. According to Doherty, although Shetland Line was given high scores for services and quality, the contract went to Serco because it scored better on price. World Maritime News Staff