Hans J Marter

2 February, 2008

A DECISION by Forth Ports not to proceed with plans for ship to ship (STS) oil transfers has been welcomed by the Sullom Voe port authority.

For years, the oil ports in Shetland and in neighbouring Orkney have argued that ship to ship transfers should only be allowed in the sheltered ports of either Sullom Voe or Scapa.

Yesterday, Forth Ports plc abandoned their plans to go ahead with such transfers in the relatively open waters of the Firth of Forth.

Forth Ports chief executive Charles Hammond said STS would have been "feasible" and could have been undertaken without adverse environmental impact, but the company had now decided that the application was "not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders".

Jim Dickson, who manages the port at Sullom, said the decision reinforced Sullom's claim for more STS business to come north.

Sullom Voe is keen to attract tanker operators who want to tranship oil from smaller to larger vessels for worldwide onwards shipment. In April 2004, the port concluded its first STS operation, a service Scapa has been offering for many years.

Mr Dickson said: "In our opinion there are only two places where ship to ship should be permitted in Scotland and that would be Scapa and here.

"This decision by Forth Ports puts Scapa and Sullom in a better position."

Mr Dickson had been involved in giving presentations to Fife Council and the SNP who have been opposing Forth Ports' plans.

Rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead yesterday also welcomed the decision. "This is the right decision for Scotland and the right decision for Forth Ports,” he said.

“I am pleased that they made this balanced judgement. I am grateful to Forth Ports for their constructive engagement with the Scottish Government and with the Scottish Parliament on this issue."

Dan Barlow, of environmental campaigners WWF Scotland, added: "We welcome this decision. The Fife coastline is an internationally important area, and any accident during ship-to-ship oil transfers would have put this valuable environment at risk. Maintaining a healthy marine environment is vital for people, wildlife and our economy.

"To safeguard our marine environment it is vital that the forthcoming Scottish Marine Bill puts the environment at the heart of this new legislation."

Meanwhile the UK government will revise the regulatory framework for ship to ship transfers across the UK.