A FIFE councillor has urged Scottish haulage firms to stick with the Superfast ferry to Zeebrugge until the bitter end as the search for a new operator continues.

William Walker, who represents West Fife and the Coastal Villages, said it was vital they continued to use the route pending the appointment of a new operator.

However, a spokesman for the haulage industry predicted Superfast’s decision to quit in September would almost certainly have a knock-on effect.

Mr Walker said, “I am aware that all sorts of inducements are being offered to hauliers to change their North Sea crossing route down to England.

“I know that one operator is promoting a range of short-term benefits to freight carriers crossing to the continent.

“It may sound very tempting, but I would appeal to carriers and their staff to await the outcome of various negotiations currently taking place.

“It just doesn’t make economic and even environmental sense to drive all the way down to Hull if a more attractive alternative can be maintained from Rosyth.”

Superfast Ferries announced two months ago they were pulling the plug on the thrice-weekly service from Rosyth at the start of September.

The decision means Scotland will lose its only direct roll-on, roll-off ferry link with the continent.

It was launched as a daily service by the Greek company in 2002 after more than £10 million was spent upgrading the port at Rosyth.

Freight was key to the route’s success and, although it struggled to attract enough business from the industry at the outset, it gradually began to find its feet.

Even so, in November 2005 the company announ-ced it was withdrawing both ships and replacing them with one.

Although it was profitable Superfast’s owner, an investment company, decided it wasn’t making enough money.

Mr Walker insisted if any new service was going to survive, it would need all the support it could get. “I know that transport minister Stewart Stevenson and Forth Ports are very much on the case with negotations currently in hand with several potential operators,” he said.

“I hope that hauliers in particular will give it a bit longer before making alternative arrangements as I confidently believe that a new operator for the route will be announced soon.”

However, Phil Flanders, Scottish director of the Road Haulage Association, said, “The big thing is hauliers are going to have to make a move sometime soon.

“They may well stick with Superfast until the last sailing goes, but they need something in place beyond that, otherwise they won’t be able to ship.

“They have to get themselves sorted out with new distribution channels and networks.”

Part of the problem any new operator could face is building freight business up again, Mr Flanders warned.

“It took them (hauliers) a wee while to get into the Superfast way because of the way they work.

“If this one goes they are going to be a bit shy about coming back.

“A lot of them were extremely upset when Superfast cut the service back to three sailings a week. That screwed a lot of them up.”