Councillors Welcome Endeavour 1V to Kinlochbervie
Highland Councillors have welcomed the “elite of the fleet” to use Kinlochbervie Harbour as its home port. The Endeavour 1V – owned by the Lovie family from Whitehills, Banffshire, and skippered by Peter Lovie - is the UK’s newest and most modern whitefish vessel.
Its arrival is a shot in the arm for Kinlochbervie and is warmly welcomed by the Council, who own and manage the harbour.
Not only does it inject income into the harbour business but it encourages other skippers to use Kinlochbervie as their base.
Members of the Council’s Fishery Harbours Management Board were shown around the £4 million vessel at a recent meeting in the North West Highland port and the Council’s Transport Environmental and Community Services Committee welcomed the boost to Kinlochbervie Harbour at its recent meeting.
Independent Councillor Richard Greene, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Kyle of Lochalsh, a former fisherman told the committee: “I know that everyone who boarded Endeavour 1V was stunned by the array of electronic equipment in the wheelhouse. On the port side of the wheelhouse the skipper has a mini office which would grace any on land, with its hi tech computer system, satellite telephone and fax. Deck machinery layout, and safety equipment, including man overboard tracking devices, are equally impressive.”
“This is a brave investment in difficult financial times and on the back of years of uncertainty in the fishing industry.
“It is a huge boost to Kinlochbervie. During our recent visit, five vessels were discharging their catch and that can only bode well for the investment we have made over the years. More importantly, it is vital for those employed at the port and the prosperity that it brings to the area.”
Councillor Greene urged the Committee to continue supporting the fishing industry, which he said was vital in scattered communities around the coastal fringes of the Highlands.
And he suggested the Council should regularly meet representatives of the fishing industry to ensure they remained up to speed with developments at a national and European level.