Oil Leak 14 – media corrections

We’ve had some great media coverage over past couple of days – the BBCSTVThe Herald and the MFR and P&J to name a few. We’d encourage you all to write to these publications (and others) to keep the issue in the media. However its time to straighten out some inaccuracies that are circulating:

  1. MFR recycles the assertion from CFPA that STS transfers have been going on safely in the area for over 20 years. The crucial distinction is that until now all STS transfers have been done between ships which are tied up alongside each other at Nigg jetty in a sheltered port within the Cromarty Firth with the onshore safety support that affords such as capture of carcinogenic VOC’s and ballast water testing and treatment.  The new application is for STS oil transfers between ships anchored out at sea in the open water of the Moray Firth.  Such operations are much more susceptible to wind, tide and weather conditions and thus carry different and more serious risks – importantly they have none of the shore support afforded by Nigg terminal. We also understand that there is NO agreement in place for provision of an emergency oil spill response.  See: http://www.mfr.co.uk/localnews/watch-tambourine-playing-dolphin-turns-up-to-nairn-protest/?version=159672&token=0812B304-2E01-549B-9FC2-327DD461B051
  2. The P&J quote Jacquie Ross as saying there are “3 community councils against this application.” This is a misquote – there are in fact 23 Community Council’s against this application with only 1 (Invergordon) in support. See: https://www.energyvoice.com/video-2/126580/video-hundreds-protest-oil-transfer/#

Our map below says it all – note that this is a work in progress and has not been updated to reflect the support of STS      by the people of Invergordon – why they would want to support this proposal, we don’t understand. It is their firth as much as anyone else’s. Perhaps the proximity of the CFPA has skewed their judgment. We here the same lies day in, day out – the most often pedalled one is that only 3 community council’s bordering the Cromarty Firth object to this application and the rest are in favour. They may only have had objections from 3 during the consultation period but the map tells us its actually 5 out of 9, not to mention the other 18 that oppose (if you are counting, Cullen hasn’t made it onto the map yet! They are also against)

Community Council Map