The MV Hallaig, a hybrid electric ferry in Scotland, celebrated for reducing emissions, is now running on diesel due to a lengthy £1.5 million battery replacement. The Daily Record has the story.
The MV Hallaig was the first in the world to use a system which cut carbon emissions by 20% when it was launched in 2012.
But the battery broke on the £10 million vessel in September and bosses have admitted it could be April 2025 before it’s fixed because the replacement part is no longer available.
It’s now the third problem ferry in Scotland after the controversy over the MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa which are six years overdue and £260 million over budget.
Alfred Baird, formerly Professor of Maritime Business and Director of the Maritime Transport Research Group at Edinburgh Napier University, said he was consulted on the hybrid ferries but advised against them. He claims officials at the Scottish Government then complained to his bosses about his work and tried to stop his research being published.
He said: “The strategy was flawed in that it specified use of earlier battery designs that were much heavier than are now available, and operationally riskier – implying they should have continued with more efficient diesel designs until battery technology had improved sufficiently – as was the general industry practice within the ‘commercial’ ferry industry who were waiting on better technology coming along.
“The main weaknesses were therefore, one, inefficient and costly hull designs developed in-house and/or by insufficiently experienced naval architects. Two, the selection of inefficient/early battery technology which led to three higher costs of shoreside infrastructure.”
He added: “My research paper was submitted to Transport Scotland and ferry agencies at the time, also in my role as an independent Member of the Scottish Government’s Ferry Advisory Group, a Ministerial appointment. However, the officials not only ignored my advice, they complained to my university hierarchy about my research and sought to prevent publication.”
Baird’s report claimed the total running cost of the hybrid ferries would be 259% more than a diesel only equivalent. Sturgeon was described as the ship’s godmother and said at the time it “symbolised everything the Scottish Government is striving to achieve”.
It was built at the now nationalised Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow following more than £20 million of Scottish Government investment.
Worth reading in full.
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Good morning fellow Sceptics.
Is this still allowed?
That lazy bastard downticker appears to have furked off. Hopefully the wages will have been adjusted accordingly.
Chuffed to bits that I am creating a small upset. Now I wonder who it could be?
Well I’ve downticked you as I hate this sort of stuff. I wish you’d just stick to commenting on the news items.
Come on. A bit of camaraderie amongst Sceptics, not something to moan about.
Anyway:
While models are often a useful tool to simulate scenarios that have not occurred, inaccurate assumptions about model parameters can easily lead to model misspecification, writes Dr. Spiro P. Pantazatos in Brownstone.
A very long-winded way of saying Rubbish In, Rubbish Out.
Shinzo Abe…. Very sad. A giant of a man.
One comment a week to have a go at me is hardly “joining the conversation”, or adding to the knowledge base.
Is it?
The fragrant Inaya Folarin Iman, GB News Lockdown Sceptic legend and all round good egg, writes good things about Suella Braverman who is supported by Lockdown Sceptic (and sartorial) Legend Sir Desmond Swayne.
That’s good enough for me
I’m not a Tory Party member so I can’t vote but anyone getting my vote would need to publicly recognise that the covid reaction was a huge mistake.
Unfortunately, having Sir Desmond Swayne as your first supporter is probably about as close as we will get to that kind of recognition simply because democracy is a system of getting people to vote for you and, I believe from personal soundings, that the numbers, incredibly, are still against us.
Democracy: the least worst system of government.
“the numbers, incredibly, are still against us.”
I expect that to be the case long after I have gone to meet my Maker.
Conservative Party leadership elections consist of two stages:
Can’t judge her, but Baker supporting her and organising her campaign is a positive and would do for me.
Also glad to see that untrustworthy vile snake Javid being smeared already by the DT, surely that is not happening by chance today…
‘Is Russia winning the war?’
War has no winners.
Besides the MIC.
I would recommend watching Dr Hongs Pharmacy classroom on YouTube, he has examined the paper showing that the vaccine RNA alters host DNA and discusses why the conclusions do not apply. He has discussed the effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine on sperm count. Vaccine induced hepatitis.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DrHongsPharmacyClassroom/videos
Wimbledon Final NOVAX Versus VAXED
Trial by Battle in the Court of Chivalry?
Mens Final Sunday: Novak Djokovic (NoVax his nickname after being deported from Australia) gets into the final against that obnoxious Australian player.
Heavily pro jab Australia versus No Jab
Promoters’ dream “NOVAX Versus VAX”.
https://off-guardian.org/2022/07/08/we-cant-trust-the-renewed-polio-vaccination-push-heres-why/
Cracking piece from Kit Knightly at Off-G pointing out that the push to get everybody injected with something can only have an ulterior motive.
Not a surprise to most on here I’m sure.
There have been polio vaccination campaigns for years in the two countries where it’s still endemic, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan. Other countries have vaccine driven outbreaks as a result of use of the oral vaccine, which can mutate. The injected vaccine is inactivated virus. Most children in the U.K. have polio as one of their childhood vaccinations and adults, potentially without realising it, may have a booster if they are given Revaxis as a prophylactic tetanus booster.
https://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/infection/a8594/revaxis-diphtheria-polio-and-tetanus-vaccine/
Just watched UK column from yesterday ….anyone else aware of the NHS long term plan? Basically the NHS is done, and no one saw fit to mention it to us…..about 45mins in…..truly shocking.
https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/uk-column-news-8th-july-2022
I need to catch up with UK Column, always informative and proper journalism.
Thanks eb.
Why should anyone be surprised that cardiac disease is the leading cause of excess deaths in 2022 compared with respiratory infection, whilst the opposite is true in spring 2020?
Heart disease has always been high, spring 2020 was when there were significant excess deaths recorded as being due to CoViD19.
I don’t think you understand how excess mortality works.
Actually I do understand, the number of deaths that are above or below the five year rolling average. Untreated ischaemic heart disease, e.g. brittle angina or myocardial infarction because people could not see either their GP or cardiologists. As IHD is one of the leading causes of death in normal circumstances then it is no surprise for it to be a leading cause of death in the excess.
‘“Come on, monkeypox, raise your game!” – Where are the piles of pox-ridden bodies on the streets, the undertakers’ carts piled high with corpses…’
Same place as all the CoVid cases, in the minds of the malicious, evil mob behind the whole scam.