Ukrainian refugees currently staying on a ferry docked in Leith as emergency accommodation could be forced to reside there until December 2024 if longer term options are not found.
The Scottish government has paid £100m to license the boat as well as another vessel on its way to Glasgow from the company Corporate Travel Management. Their contract runs until December 12, 2024, and the SNP have refused to rule out using the accommodation for these purposes until then.
The MS Victoria ferry is normally used for overnight trips between Tallinn and Stockholm by Tallink, the Estonian shipping company that owns it. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "This [ferry] may be comfortable now, but by Christmas it could be a floating refugee camp. Nobody would want to stay in a hotel or on a cruise liner for more than a couple of weeks.”
