The Scottish government and the municipality of Edinburgh are in favour of a new ferry service between Scotland and Eemshaven. According to reporting by The Scotsman, the national government is in talks with TEC Offshore about providing a £35-40 million loan for the ferries.
David Kellas, director of TEC Offshore, the company which is pursuing the passenger and freight service between Rosyth and Eemshaven , told The Scotmans that he believes there will be a lot of demand for his service. The company previously had a freight route to Zeebrugge, which ended last year.
The newspaper reports that the company is in talks with the Scottish government about obtaining a £35-40 million loan, which is necessary “due to TEC Offshore having no assets with which to secure the loan itself.” A representative for the Scottish government told the publication that they are in favour of new direct ferry services, “but they need to be delivered on a commercial basis.”
A TEC Offshore spokesperson says that Brexit was not a deciding factor in their plans and pointed out that the Edinburgh-Eemshaven route was something that Scotland needed regardless of the political developments.
The city of Edinburgh also sees the potential connection as a boost for tourism: “We would welcome a well-managed ferry route to the Netherlands that could have a positive impact on the capital and the wider city region.”