Moray Council dredger MV Selkie in ‘very good overall operational condition’, new report claims
Moray Council has reaffirmed its commitment to a controversy-dogged dredger vessel.
The MV Selkie, which is based at Buckie Harbour, was launched at a cost of £2.5 million to the local authority in 2016 and since then has been plagued with a variety of mechanical and staffing issues.
The dredger formed part of the papers put before councillors at the inaugural meeting of the council’s Harbours Sub-Committee chaired by Councillor Marc Macrae (Conservative, Fochabers-Lhanbryde) on Wednesday, October 22.
Performance statistics showed that the Selkie over 2024-25 had spent a total of 91 days in maintenance - the highest since records began back in 2020 - returning a mere 24 per cent working day score while removing some 9012 tonnes of spoil. This working day percentage figure was the lowest since 2020.
For the current year to date the statistics looked more encouraging, with the vessel spending 37.5 days in maintenance and 48 per cent of her working days in action, removing 9460 tonnes - a figure updated during the meeting to having breached the 10,000 tonne mark.
The committee paper stated that Selkie was in “very good overall operational condition”. A new maintenance plan was said to have been paying dividends, with components identified as being at risk of failure being replaced rather than waiting until they are no longer functional. This, committee members were told, had seen a “significant improvement”, especially in terms of the availability of the excavator on the boat, which has been a persistent problem in the past.
It was noted, however, that the excavator is near the end of its operational life and “remains a serious risk factor to operational availability despite the new maintenance plan”.
The mood from the committee was upbeat as to the future of the council dredger.
Councillor Macrae said: “People will see…that the improved vessel availability and the cost efficiency per tonne of dredging material is a significant benefit to Moray Council as opposed to outsourcing at this point in time.
“We look forward to supporting the vessel, the staff behind it and the team that are operating the vessel.
“Often a lot of bad publicity goes about with this vessel and I feel it is very very unfair given the work it has done and is doing and that we continue to support our harbour team in delivering dredging service across our six harbours.”
Head of Operations and Environment Nicola Moss added: “No officer of the council is complacent about dredging.
“The good work and progress we’ve made this year [has been highlighted] - we do recognise there’s more to do.
“It’s also worth highlighting that Buckie [Harbour] in terms of principal depth, is at the depth we want to to be at this point of time. We don’t deny there is more work we can do and will do there.
“Equally, Burghead is at the charted depths.
“We’re not complacent. We recognise the aspirations and commercial needs of our harbour users at Burghead and we’re doing work that takes us beyond those charted depths.
“It’s important that we strike a balance across our harbours; to an extent we’re battling with nature, particularly in some of the harbours which perennially see significant sediment movement and have always struggled with the depths because of the nature of the environment we’re in. We’re seeing a changing landscape in terms of storm weather.”
Buckie councillor Sonya Warren (SNP), who chairs the local Harbour Advisory Committee, asked what the “Plan B” was should the Selkie’s excavator fail again or when the vessel is out of the water for her five-yearly inspection, due between January 12 and April 12, 2026.
Mrs Moss said: “The excavator is now nearing the end of what would be its planned working life as a piece of plant so we’re looking at the capital implications for replacing that.
“We’re also looking at the overall dredging arrangements and making sur that we can consider matters in the round.
“Whilst that’s under way, the planned maintenance and preventative maintenance that’s taking place - as you’ll see from the dredging results - the vessel reliability this year has significantly improved by the changed management arrangements for that and that will continue.
“That is the plan that sees us through on that journey.
“Ultimately, like any mechanical equipment, there will be an ultimate shelf life beyond which the plant will become progressively more unreliable to the point that it becomes absolutely critical to renew. That’s whether it’s an excavator on Selkie or an excavator on the ground, a pool car [or] a refuse wagon.”
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Warren added: “It’s vital we know what the Plan B is when the Selkie in unavailable.
“We have at last seen a proper maintenance plan for the excavator which is paying dividends in the current dredging figures - we don’t want these improvements to slip back again.”