Could cruise-liners use the deep water terminal at Hunterston in future?
That was a question posed during a talk on shipping and the Clyde, hosted by author and historian John Riddell. 
The future use of the PeelPorts Hunterston terminal is still to be decided, and the port is being heavily marketed and promoted by the company, to try and find interested businesses who could use the facility.
Mr Riddell was giving a presentation to the Largs and North Ayrshire Family History Society at Largs Library.
After the presentation, Fairlie man, Alfred Davies, 83, asked: "Is there no chance that it could be used for cruise-liners to come in to - from a Fairlie point of view, it would be a good thing given all the disruption and dust that the village has had to put up with over the years."
Mr Riddell, who also lives in Fairlie, said that passenger ships were using Greenock nowadays, and it was actually building a separate harbour area in order to solely accommodate liners due to popular demand. The former Fairlie Nato Pier has been occasionally used for smaller cruise ships such as The Hebridean Princess.
Speaking about the future prospects for Hunterston, John Riddell said: "It is difficult to say - passenger ships are now going to Greenock. You are really looking at some kind of bulk cargo - what is that bulk cargo and who wants it? 
"I suspect they will try and promote it for bio-mass and some bio-mass plant there. Hunterston has a very narrow approach so that is no good for containers.
"Peel Ports have used it for bringing in coal for power stations, and the biggest cargo was in 2014 was six million tonnes to Hunterston. 
"We now find, of course, that burning coal to make electricity is no longer possible, and Longannet is going to close, and that has been the major source for the coal.
"And even in the last few weeks, I have been told there has been another round of redundancies, so what is going to happen to it, we will just have to wait and see."
In its property portfolio, Peel Ports state that Hunterston is a deep water ore terminal capable of handling a variety of bulk cargo, and extensive land suitable for stockpiling and associated uses. There is the platform yard with dry dock and extensive land suitable for a number of potential development options.
The portfolio also states that there are excellent transport links, and there is potential to improve the dry dock and nearby quayside.