New containers specifically designed for the transport of livestock from the Northern Isles will be trialled by NorthLink Ferries next month.

NorthLink expects to receive three prototypes of the newly designed livestock containers from its supplier’s manufacturing plant in China early in February. The containers are being shipped in to Grangemouth, where they are scheduled to arrive on Friday, February 2.

Thereafter, they will be transported to the Northern Isles for inspection and trials on the company’s freight vessels Hascosay and Clare. The ferry operator will consult with a range of interested parties on the prototypes, including industry experts, farmers, buyers, and importantly, the appropriate health and welfare authorities. Once the testing and consultation process is complete, NorthLink will have the opportunity to make modifications to the design prior to contracting the full production run of more than 100 containers.

Gareth Crichton, NorthLink’s commercial director, said: “We’re looking forward to receiving the prototypes in the next few weeks and are very encouraged by photos showing one of the containers before they left China recently.

“The shipping of the prototypes is a significant milestone in the process of introducing a new system for shipping livestock from the Northern Isles. The next stage is for us to test the system’s suitability in practice and this is crucially important. During this testing period we will also seek the views of those involved in the livestock industry, from farmers themselves and the appropriate regulatory bodies.”