On the 27th May 2001 - I received an email from the office of the Secretary of State for Scotland with an update on events surrounding the ferry service.

The email stated - "On 8 May 2001, the Secretary of State issued a press release which highlighted her commitment to the project. This was followed up by the Scotland Office placing an advert for expressions of interest from potential tenderers in the Official Journal of the European Commission, and Public Notices in Lloyds List, The Ballymena Times and the Campbeltown Courier".

Check out the Scottish Office Press Releases for other related entries, most recently the meeting held on the 26th November 2001.

If you want to apply to run the service, the advert is shown here; the press release from the Scottish Office referenced above is also available here.

For more governmental info also check out the Scottish Executive web site (although I struggled to find anything relevant).