By Lars Niven

THE SNP has called for Rosyth to be turned into the country’s gateway to its North Sea neighbours, as it emerged a new route to Scandinavia is being considered.

Nationalists believe the Fife port has the potential to become Scotland’s main seafaring link with countries such as Denmark, Germany and Norway, as well as the Baltic states.

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Bruce Crawford visited the port yesterday to press the case for further routes, saying, “There are huge markets out there, let’s go and get them.”

It is understood the operators of an unnamed Norwegian port have approached Superfast Ferries, which runs the daily service between Rosyth and Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Although Superfast refused to be drawn on the matter, its North Sea director Yannis Kriticos said the company would be “pleased to explore any additional services” from Rosyth.

Mr Crawford, who was accompanied by the party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Dunfermline and West Fife Douglas Chapman, added, “We are challenging the Scottish Executive to nominate Rosyth as the hub port for the North Sea.

“We have seen the successful development of the Rosyth to Zeebrugge route and the time is now right to introduce other routes, with the longer term aim of creating a ferry hub port at Rosyth.

“The tourist potential is fantastic, if the existing Superfast service is anything to go by.

“The figures suggest that £150 million in additional revenue has been put into the Scottish tourist market through the ferry service on this single route alone.

“There is a vast untapped market, particularly from Sweden and Germany, as we also know that on the existing service 42% of those using the service are first-time visitors.

“We need to attract these visitors to Scotland and what better way to do it than by sea, where getting here is part of the holiday and an adventure on its own.”

Mr Chapman added, “The SNP’s aim is to focus attention on developing Rosyth as a hub port, and to use Superfast as a template for success, both in terms of reliability and standard of service.

“We think the potential is there.

“Now is the time for concerted action from the Government, Forth Ports and operators like Superfast to make the dream into a reality and give a real boost to the Scottish tourist industry.”

Mr Kriticos said of the approach from Norwegian port operators, “We are open to discussions about any proposals that have been put forward to us.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said, “We would welcome additional ferry services from Scotland to mainland Europe.

“However, there are limits to the financial support available and any new service would have to show itself to be commercially viable.”

Forth Ports declined to comment on the SNP’s call.

However, a spokesman did confirm the company had been in talks with Superfast and others about developing a new service at Rosyth.

“We have been working in partnership with Superfast Ferries, the Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise and Fife Council on further route development from Rosyth,” he said.

“It is hoped that a Norwegian link can be put in place within a foreseeable time frame, but significant marketing effort will be required and ships will need to be identified for operating on the possible new route.”