68 arrivals for the period
Whitefish totalled 7,740 boxes from six Scottish trawl, two Anglo long-liners and a freezer netter landing. The Peterhead registered Harvest Hope landed a very good catch of quality whitefish from Faroese waters, a handful of Scottish boats have Faroese licenses allowing them access to the grounds for a short winter fishery. The remaining Scottish landings comprised monkfish and squid caught along the deep-water edge west of the Butt of Lewis. The Anglo fleet have fished and landed north for the majority of this year, a couple of long-liners landed hake and ling and a freezer netter processed-at-sea monkfish with all boats heading home for the holidays. For a variety of reasons, 2024 has been a very poor year for whitefish landings here with poor prices and limited quota the main drivers behind the slump.
Shellfish saw thirty-two landings from prawn trawlers who continue to fish the North Minch grounds, which as ever combined with the efforts of the resident fleet.
Non-fishing saw seventeen arrivals; thirteen from the aquaculture sector for fuel, crew changes and day-running plus the bulk carrier Ceg Cosmos in with 1,200 tonnes of road salt, cargo ship Vestland in for fuel on her way to Iceland, FRV Scotia in for repairs and MCA tug Ievoli Black in for fuel and crew.
The new cruise reception building under construction at the harbour entrance will replace the previous marquee arrangement. With a completion window of twenty weeks the contractors have worked hard to get the building watertight before the festive holidays. With windows due in February, the walls will be left solid for the next few weeks to keep the space dry for the electricians, joiners and plumbers. Once complete the new warm and well fitted space will have an open reception area and fully accessible toilets.
2024 Vessel Summary
Anglo-Spanish 47 Landings Most Frequent Vessel Lord Miles 4 landings
Scottish Whitefish 101 Landings Most Frequent Vessel Adventurer 25 landings
Prawn Trawl 502 Landings Most Frequent Vessel Olivia 34 landings
Aquaculture 327 Arrivals Most Frequent Visitor Aqua Viknes 37 calls
Cruise Ships 36 Arrivals Biggest Ship Balmoral 1,350 passengers
Scottish whitefish arrivals decreased by 34% with a number of vessels not venturing west and others cutting short their duration due to poor prices and limited quotas. With huge quota increases for both Rockall haddock and west coast monkfish in 2025 here’s hoping that markets remain stable and effort increases. Anglo effort decreased by 54% with vessels working and landing further north due to lack of hake on traditional grounds west of Ullapool. Prawn trawl arrivals increased by 120%, this was mainly due to a number of boats new to the area working locally, and with ice and services available 24/7 they have based themselves in Ullapool. Aquaculture vessels of all shapes and sizes are regular visitors to the harbour these days and this sector saw a 22% increase in arrivals. Whilst bookings were up for cruise, the miserable summer weather put paid to seven calls. In total 36 ships carrying 39,600 passengers and crew spent the day in the village. Finally, the new pontoons were 100% occupied by a host of local inshore vessels and the seven visitor pontoons where full for several weeks despite the weather.
Special events and visitors
The harbour hosted the inaugural Lugger Fest 24 with seventeen beautiful wooden sailing boats residing in the inner harbour for a glorious weekend in May. Given the success of the event, Lugger Fest will be held bi-annually, roll on May 2026. The magnificent paddle steamer Waverley made her first ever visit, recording 1,083 passenger journeys on one of their busiest days of the 2024 season. Waverley has confirmed to return in 2025 with a new itinerary. Tallships continue to use Ullapool as a base for crew and passenger changeovers with ten vessels visiting for the year including a maiden call for the Swedish three masted barque Gunilla. Sponsored by the Swedish government Gunilla is a fulltime school at sea vessel, with students undertaking sixty-day voyages learning navigation and environmental science with the ship completing a lap round the North Atlantic each year. Another highlight of the year was the Shetland tallship Swan visiting for two weeks to have her main mast replaced by the local boat-builders. In perfect weather conditions, the old mast was removed and the new 70ft Douglas Fir mast lifted in and secured in record time. Swan returned to Shetland sailing all the way from Coigach to Scalloway in near ideal conditions with eight additional stowaways from the village relishing the experience.
Community Benefit
The Ullapool Harbour Constitution 2011 allows for the provision of 2% gross profit from the previous year to be distributed to local groups, individuals, and initiatives by way of grant funding. This year £26,600 has been donated to the following applicants; Church of Scotland, Gaelic Primary, An Talla Solais, Ullapool Museum, Village Hall, Book Festival, Lochbroom House, Lorg na Coigach, Amy Martin, Luggerfest, Sea Savers, Swim Club, High School, Primary School, Golf Club, Playgroup, Leisure Centre, British Legion OAP Dinner. It is great to see such a mix of events and initiatives taking place community-wide.
The community has sadly lost a number of good people over the year; our thoughts are with the families and friends of the dear departed.
On behalf of Ullapool Harbour Trustees and staff I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers, tenants and stakeholders a very Merry Christmas, and our very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2025.