MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Penguin News Update.

Headlines:
Island Shipping goes bust;
Education Director: ?nothing but praise' for A Level results;
News in brief:

Telephone refund; Popular tourism job;
Conferencing councillors.

Island Shipping goes bust Development Corporation steps in to handle coastal shipping service

THE Falkland Islands Development Corporation (FIDC) has stepped in to run the coastal shipping service following the news that the current supplier, Island Shipping Ltd, has gone into liquidation. The government's Chief Executive, Chris Simpkins, has assured that any impact upon customers will be kept to a "minimum". Last Friday, August 11, Island Shipping Limited formally notified the government that it could no longer undertake the contract for the provision of the coastal shipping service as the company is insolvent. It is believed that Island Shipping Ltd has a number of creditors, not least the government, within the Islands and overseas. According to Mr Simpkins, the government is "carefully considering" its position, "bearing in mind the company's indebtedness to the government". For now, efforts are being concentrated on the continuation of the coastal shipping and interim ferry service using the MV Tamar. Penguin Newscontacted Captain Ian Wilkinson, Director of Island Shipping Ltd, for comment; he declined to do so but hoped to have something to say next week. Speaking on Falklands Radio this week, Mr Simpkins said the news of Island Shipping's insolvency had not been entirely unexpected. He commented, "We'd been observing the situation for some little while and had been aware the company has experienced some cash flow difficulties but obviously we're not privy to the details of the company's operations. "(However) we had got some loose contingency arrangements in place that we could activate fairly quickly..." The Tamaris owned by FIDC and will now be operated by them and trading as Coastal Shipping in the immediate future, pending the award of a contract following the recent invitation of tenders for a new service. The letting of the new contract and the process of the evaluation of the tenders continues unaffected by this week's developments, Mr Simpkins said, adding, "...I would expect Executive Council to be considering a report on those tenders at its next meeting this month." The arrangements for booking and handling cargo will remain unchanged, however there may be some teething problems during the transitional period, Mr Simpkins warned. Jason Morris, a former employee of Island Shipping Limited, will continue to be the main point of contact, but will be located at FIDC's offices. He can be contacted on coastalshipping@horizon.co.fk, telephone 22206 or fax 22289. A new schedule will be published within the next few days which will take into account the pre-existing need for the Tamarto undergo a survey in Punta Arenas in the near future. Weather permitting, the Tamaris expected to provide the previously planned ferry service across Falkland Sound this weekend. Photo: MV Tamar (pictured at Port San Carlos) will now be operated by the Falkland Islands Development Corporation.

Education Director: ?nothing but praise' for A Level results

TWO years of hard study at Peter Symonds College has paid off for Falkland Islands students who received their A Level results yesterday. A total of 44 examinations were taken by the 11 Upper Sixth Form students and all of the students have been successful, some having achieved "outstanding" results. Thirty-two percent of the passes were at ?A' grade, the highest possible, 34% at ?B' grade, 23% at ?C' grade, 9% at ?D' and 2% at E, meaning that 87% of the examinations taken were passed at the highest levels (A ? C), the usual qualifying grades for university entrance. All of the students have secured grades in this range and that is an outstanding success rate for this year group, the Director of Education, Barbara Booth, said. She had "nothing but praise" for the achievements: "it is a testament to all of the students' hard work and application." Holder of the Education portfolio, Councillor Richard Stevens, commented, "Again our young people have upheld the reputation of the Islands in the UK. This is a tremendous set of results and the praise it brings is richly deserved."

News in brief

Telephone refund

CABLE and Wireless customers who have made calls from a landline to a mobile in recent months can expect a refund on their next telephone bill. The company says a technical problem has been discovered whereby calls from a landline to a mobile were being charged under both national and metered calls. According to Brian Summers of Cable and Wireless, the problem has now been rectified and the Finance Department has been working to calculate the refund due. "Customers who have made calls from a landline to a mobile since December 2005 will see a refund on their August bill."

Popular tourism job

MORE than twenty people have applied for the job of Director of Tourism. Councillor Ian Hansen, who holds the tourism portfolio, confirmed that at the beginning of this week 20 overseas and two local applications had been received. After short listing the applicants, he intends to put some form of interview process in place for the first week in September.

Conferencing councillors

FOUR Councillors will leave the Islands on business next week. Departing on August 26 are Councillors Richard Davies and Mike Summers, who head to a meeting of the European Union's Overseas Countries and Territories in Greenland, and Councillors Richard Cockwell and Janet Robertson, who will attend a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in Nigeria.

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