'Motorway of the sea' sunk without EU aid

Published Date: 20 July 2008 PLANS for a new ferry service between Scotland, Belgium and Norway are hanging in the balance this weekend as those behind the scheme wait to hear if they will be awarded a slice of a £300m-plus pot of European funding. The Scottish and Norwegian transport groups proposing a "motorway of the sea", linking Rosyth, Zeebrugge and Kristiansund in Norway, say the project cannot go ahead unless the European Union agrees to fund the route, which they hope to start as earl y as November. A decision by the EU is expected "imminently", according to John White, the Shetland-based businessman who was appointed by a consortium made up of the Shetland Development Trust and the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) to operate the route earlier this year. The so-called 'Norshukon' ferry link is... [read full story]