in its late stages as Option A) was halted because of local opposition to both the built elements of the scheme and the vessel design. A pressure group called upon the then Transport undersecretary, Norman Baker to halt the scheme. On 1 September 2009, the Steamship Company took over the lease to operate and manage Penzance Dry Dock. Established in 1834, it is one of the UK’s longest established dry docks and provides facilities for vessels requiring repair and conversion. It takes in 15 to 20 ships a year. At the AGM in September 2010, the following corporate figures were published: During the previous fiscal year, Steamship Company craft had carried 73,000 passengers to Scilly by air and sea. This accounted for 61.4% of the total passenger market on the route between Scilly and the mainland. Skybus Ltd had a market share to 50.2% of all passengers flying to St Mary's. In May 2011, the Steamship Company acquired Nike Engineering of the Porthmellon Industrial Estate on St Mary's, which provides marine and mechanical engineering services to the Isles of Scilly. In February 2015, the Steamship Company acquired Island Carriers (also of the Porthmellon Industrial Estate) which provides haulage and courier services on the island. In May 2016, the Steamship Company acquired the Mali Rose, a Norwegian freight ship that was expected to replace the smaller and older Gry Maritha in the autumn of that year. The vessel was found to be unsuitable and made her final voyage from St Mary's to Penzance on 9 May 2019. The Gry Maritha returned to regular service the following week. Sole transport operator After British International Helicopters ceased its service from Penzance in 2012, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company became the sole transport operator to the Isles of Scilly, until the launch of the new Penzance Helicopters service. In February 2017 a new Penzance Heliport was unanimously granted planning permission by the Cornwall Council to reinstate a helicopter service from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly. In May of the same year, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company began proceedings for a Judicial Review of the planning decision. These Judicial Review proceedings began after an anonymous appeal to the Secretary of State to review the planning permission failed a month earlier. The actions of the Steamship Company were widely condemned by businesses, residents, and visitors to Penzance and the Isles of Scilly. The