Cromarty Rising

The media always like an anniversary to frame a story around, last week was the 50th anniversary of the Torrey Canyon disaster – the Guardian produced a good article in case you are not familiar with it: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/18/torrey-canyon-disaster-uk-worst-ever-oil-spill-50tha-anniversary

It still Britain’s biggest oil spill at 117,000 tonnes cause by the supertanker running aground off the coast of Cornwall in March 1967. The spill covered over 1000 square km. Yes, we are better prepared these days and thankfully events like this happen less often. Also tankers are now double skinned, and chance of a disaster is relatively low.  But the simple fact remains that if a tanker undertaking STS was to ground, collide with the coastline or with another vessels, go on fire or be the subject of terrorist attack then we would be looking at a spill the size of the Torrey Canyon in the Inner Moray Firth. Now the Oil Spill Contingency Plan specify the type and quantity of booms available, however, one thing is very clear is that there is only enough to protect a fraction of the coastline in the event of the unthinkable. Make no mistake, this is a disaster waiting to happen. We have a choice and we need to make the right choice not to do this in such an environmentally sensitive area – simple as that.

There’s some great pictures in this follow up article – we particularly like the insightfulness of the individual that left the comment:

“A lot of fuss about nothing. These oil spills always clean themselves. The ocean is plenty big enough to sort out whatever is spilled.”

Maybe we really have learned nothing?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2017/mar/20/torrey-canyon-oil-spill-jane-bown-1967