£10million harbour deepening in pipeline
FRASERBURGH Harbour Commissioners are planning a massive £10million development at the port.
The plan is to deepen the North Harbour Basin to a depth of five metres, however the port Commissioners have stressed that the project will only go ahead if they can secure substantial financial backing in grant aid.
Harbourmaster Andrew Ironside believes the development would ultimately benefit the entire port and the tradesmen who work in the harbour.
He told the Herald: "The intention is to deepen what is known as the Black Sands area, from the north side of the Middle Jetty and the south side of the North Pier. It is classed as the North Harbour, but people locally know it as the Black Sands. The plan is to deepen it to 5m.
"There will also be a new decked quay at the North West side of the basin, creating berthing for deep water white fish and prawn boats," he said.
The Harbourmaster estimates that deepening would mean an additional 20 to 25 new berths for the deeper draughted boats of the white fish and prawn catching fleet, but he admitted it wa s major project.
"The intention is to create much better berthing arrangements for the stakeholders in the port," he said.
"That will also release the Inner Balaclava Basin for more berthing, but more specifically to be used as a repair facility for standby supply vessels and Pelagic vessels. That could create employment opportunities for the tradesmen in the town. We believe by creating this new mooring area it will lead to more work in the port," he said.
Harbour Board convenor George Sutherland MBE explained that originally the Commissioners had considered deepening the south harbour, but costings and the timescales involved had ruled that project out.
"About 15 years ago, we wanted to deepen the south harbour. That was turned down because of the money needed, said Mr Sutherland.
"We have deepened the entrance to the Balaclava and have finished the breakwater, the Balaclava gates and the entrance around the Watch Hut.
"In 2009, we decided for the first time in many many years to have a year without a project. At the beginning of 2009, we held consultations with the harbour engineers, Wallace Stone, to give a price for deepening the south harbour to 15 or 16feet.
"That was the main bit of the harbour in that that is where most of our income comes from. At present, the deeper drafted vessels have to moor in the Balaclava and juggle the times to land their fish.
"Skippers do not want to have their boat on the ground and not to be able to sail when they want, hence the Balaclava Moorings. We had a serious look at deepening the south harbour but the price that the engineers came back with was in excess of 30million.
"It would have been a three-year project to deepen the entrances and the two basins and would have been done in the wet. It would have been a huge undertaking, that financially, the Harbour Commissioners could not have serviced," he said.
However, the board was determined to look at another way of helping the fleet, as Mr Sutherland explained: "The Commissioners looked at the next alternative; to deepen the north harbour in the dry. That would take a year of less to do from start to finish, at a cost of 11million or in that region.
"It would put white fish boats at the centre of the port and avoid them having to use the north Balaclava basin at all, as we would have approximately 25 new deep water berths in the new deepened area. The boats would also then be nearer the fishmarket.
"This would also release berths in the inner Balaclava and that would mean that we could provide a layby berth for boats being repaired in the dry dock. This development would give us their pier space for the first time," he said.
Mr Sutherland pointed out that the berth of 100m along the north side of the North Pier for commercial vessels would be retained under the plans.
However, he stressed that the entire project was dependent on securing help from a number of funding sources.
"We have applied for the grant from the European Fisheries Fund and realise that we need a 70 percent grant," he said.
Within that 70 percent, the Commissioners also need Marine Scotland to provide a quarter of the 70 percent, a possible 1.925million.
The Convenor stressed that without the grant support, the project would not happen, stating: "We still have two outstanding loans from other projects. They should be paid off in 2014 and 2015, so we feel we could service another loan of around 3million to make this project a reality.
"The great thing about this development is that this deepening would bring Fraserburgh Harbour up to 85 percent of it's possible potential. Thirty years ago the port was operating at 50 percent," he said.
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Weather for Fraserburgh
Thursday 24 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
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