Greens suggest new passenger and freight ferry link from Rosyth to Europe

A ferry route between Rosyth and the continent could be revived to help boost Scottish links with Europe and cut carbon emissions.

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The Scottish Greens have said they want to work with ferry bosses at Calmac to set up new links between Scotland and Europe

Party co-leader and Lothian candidate Lorna Slater said tailbacks linked to Brexit had shown there was a need for more ways of getting to the continent and suggested publicly-owned ferry services could be the answer.

Superfast operated a ferry from Rosyth to Zeebrugge from 2002 until 2008

She said "new low-carbon ferries carrying freight and holidaymakers" would help tackle climate change and could be a popular alternative to flights to Europe.

Superfast Ferries launched a passenger and freight ferry between Rosyth and Zeebrugge in May 2002. The service was taken over by Norfolkline in 2008, but it ended in 2010 and was replaced by a freight-only ferry operated by DFDS which continued until April 2018 when it was declared not economically viable.

Ms Slater said: "Scotland's journey back to Europe starts at this election, and the Scottish Greens want to see new links established from places like Rosyth, which has the advantage of already having infrastructure in place.

"This is a significant strategic investment for Scotland. Brexit has shown we need more links to Europe, with tailbacks at English ports.

"And we have a publicly owned operator ready to step up to give Scots more opportunities to get to Europe without having to fly.

"I see Scotland being at the forefront of Europe's plans to tackle the climate emergency, and new low-carbon ferries carrying freight and holidaymakers to the continent would be a great start."

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