RSPB backs oil transfer law bid

Transfer plans have met with a number of objections

A bird conservation group has welcomed calls to tighten up the law on ship-to-ship oil transfers.

The RSPB is backing the move by East Lothian Labour MP Anne Moffat to change shipping laws reserved to Westminster.

It follows pressure from the Scottish Parliament for Westminster to deliver a change in the law to complement moves already made at Holyrood.

Proposals to transfer millions of tonnes of crude oil between ships in Firth of Forth have caused controversy.

Harbour authority Forth Ports has the final say on the proposals, which come from SPT Marine Services.

They would see 7.8m tonnes of Russian crude pumped each year between tankers anchored four miles off the coast.

The Scottish Parliament has played its part by strengthening the environmental laws, but we now need Westminster to step up and increase its powers over shipping Stuart Housden RSPB Scotland

An amendment to the European Habitats Directive, approved by the Scottish Parliament, would enable ministers to suspend projects until their compliance had been validated.

The RSPB believes transferring oil between ships at anchor anywhere around the UK must be properly assessed and that the UK Government at Westminster must introduce ship-to-ship oil transfer regulations.

Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said: "Many people are concerned about the possible impacts of ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Forth, but most people are surprised that no elected representatives of any parliament have the final say.

"The Scottish Parliament has played its part by strengthening the environmental laws, but we now need Westminster to step up and increase its powers over shipping.

"Ultimately there is no substitute for comprehensive marine bills at both Holyrood and Westminster, which would bring ship-to-ship transfers into a proper system of marine spatial planning, to protect our seas as we do our land."

Forth Ports said it was committed to working with the Scottish Government to achieve an outcome that reflected a proper business and environmental consensus.