The Red Princess, launched by Paul Wheelhouse, MSP, minister for environment and climate change, in the port of Troon, will transport 118,500 tonnes of logs over the next two years from five sites on the Scottish coast and islands for the Glennon Brothers site (formerly Adam Wilson & Sons) in Troon. The service is a partnership with UPM Tilhill and the Troon Tug Company.
"This is an innovative and practical solution to a challenging problem and the Scottish Government is delighted to support it," said Mr Wheelhouse. "It adds economic value by accessing more timber for the market and putting money into island and coastal economies, while contributing to the Scottish government’s carbon reduction target."
Glennon Brothers joint managing director Mike Glennon said some of the finished timber would "cross the road" to Glennon’s engineered timber facility, Alexanders Timber Design, "resulting in an end product with an incredibly low carbon footprint".
The 750-tonne Red Princess was formerly a passenger vessel in Corfu. The initiative has been supported by the Scottish government’s Strategic Timber Transport Scheme.
