Port bosses sink ship-to-ship oil transfers

PLANS to transfer millions of tonnes of crude oil from tanker to tanker in the Firth of Forth have been dropped.

Forth Ports said today it had ruled out the project despite continuing to believe ship-to-ship transfers could be carried out safely in the estuary.

The company has blamed the decision on "uncertainty" surrounding the scope of the plans, which faced sustained opposition from environmentalists.

The UK and Scottish governments are preparing legislation which promises to restrict the scope of any such operations on the Forth.

Forth Ports had been assessing the ship-to-ship proposals as the harbour authority but also stood to make millions in fees from allowing the operation to go ahead. It has now taken the decision not to grant a licence for the project, but only on commercial grounds. The company's position leaves the door open to future ship-to-ship proposals.

SPT Marine Services would have pumped 7.8 million tonnes of Russian crude each year between tankers anchored four miles off the coast if the project had been given the go-ahead.

Politicians and environmentalists have waged a three-year battle against the plans, citing the possible environmental and economic impact on communities round the Forth in the event of an oil spill.

Charles Hammond, chief executive of Forth Ports PLC, said: "In our role as the harbour authority for the Firth of Forth we have a statutory duty to assess all applications to undertake commercial activity on the river.

"Our assessment clearly demonstrates that ship-to-ship is feasible in the Firth of Forth and could be undertaken without any adverse impact on the integrity of the environment, a paramount factor in any such exercise.

"However, given the uncertainty surrounding the scope of the proposed project, we have decided that this application is not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders."

Mr Hammond said Forth Ports was looking forward to taking part in forthcoming government consultation on the regulations covering ship-to-ship transfers.

It is thought laws will be tightened up on which types of cargo would be subject to control, where ship-to-ship transfers may or may not be carried out, and what environmental protection measures could be taken.

City Labour MP Mark Lazarowicz last week dropped his Private Member's Bill to change the law on marine oil transfers after shipping minister Jim Fitzpatrick pledged to bring forward these new regulations. Mr Lazarowicz's Bill would have imposed more general controls on the transfer of any hazardous material between ships in inshore UK waters.

The Scottish Parliament last year agreed to give ministers new powers to put a brake on such transfers, but they only covered sites officially protected for wildlife. That means they could be banned from some parts of the Forth, but not others. Details of the assessment are set to be posted on the Forth Ports website today.


CRUDE PROPOSAL PROMISED MILLIONS

SHIP-TO-SHIP oil transfers in the Firth of Forth would have enabled small tankers from Russia to hook up with giant, ocean-going tankers.

After being filled with oil, the giant tankers would have then delivered it around the world, mostly to the Far East and North America.

The crude oil would have been taken to an anchorage in the Firth of Forth where up to eight million tonnes of oil would have been transferred in around 100 ship movements a year. Backers claimed the scheme would have created up to 100 jobs and benefited the local economy by around £4 million a year.