A fresh attempt will be made to resurrect the ferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle in Northern Ireland, which last sailed in 1999.

Stewart Stevenson, the Transport Minister, announ-ced yesterday that a new economic appraisal of the route would be undertaken. It followed talks with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive, Nigel Dodds.

There have been repeated attempts to resurrect the service in the last eight years. Indeed, at least two firms were interested in tendering to operate an 11-month service when Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, announced in October last year that he was withdrawing the £300,000 that Northern Ireland had been due to contribute for five years to the £1m a year annual subsidy of the service.

It was seen as a stick to beat the Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party into power sharing, as the ferry had cross-party support.

But during Alex Salmond's visits to Belfast in June and at the British Irish Council in July, Northern Ireland ministers indicated their willingness to take the project forward.

Mr Stevenson said yesterday: "Communities on both sides of the water have campaigned long and hard for the reinstatement of this service, believing it would bring economic and tourism benefits to the local communities involved and Scotland more widely. This appraisal will examine that case.

"Both governments are in agreement that the previous appraisals carried out in 2000/01 are now too old to be of any practical use in assessing the case for reintroducing the service, or estimating the associated costs and benefits involved. A new appraisal now will allow us to re-examine the economic viability of the route."

The appraisal, which will go out to tender within the next few days, should be completed this summer.

But Alan Reid, LibDem MP for Argyll and Bute, said: "For the ferry service to be properly marketed for 2009, contracts with an operator will have to be signed by next September at the latest. If this study is not completed by the summer, it will be too late."