Greens oppose UK backtracking on ship-to-ship oil transfer
Robin Harper MSP has today strongly criticised a group of MPs at Westminster for attempting to overturn regulations on ship-to-ship oil transfers, such as those proposed for the Firth of Forth, and has lodged a motion at Holyrood pressing UK Ministers to retain the rules. A similar motion has been lodged at Westminster by Labour MP Mark Lazarowicz. The Green MSPs are also urging the shipping industry to put an end to their lobbying on this issue.
In the April washup Westminster passed regulations to restrict these transfers, following the introduction of similar regulations in Scotland as part of an agreement made between the Green MSPs and the Scottish Government in 2007. The UK moves therefore completed the framework Greens say is necessary to protect this country's coastline from spills associated with irresponsible ship-to-ship oil transfers.
Robin Harper MSP said:
"The regulations passed by Westminster in April to restrict ship-to-ship oil transfers are a crucial piece of the jigsaw, and they are essential if this country is to meet its international legal obligations to protect the environment. We have long campaigned for better regulation and proper control over ship-to-ship transfers. Such operations carry a huge and unacceptable risk, and are a tactic the companies only use to save themselves a day or two of transit time.
"Now, just as those regulations are finally delivered, it's disturbing to see Lib Dem and Tory MPs encouraging Ministers to backtrack, especially when the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico shows how high the price can be when corners are cut by the oil industry. These MPs have a lot of explaining to do: do they really think a day's less travel and a slice more profit for the industry is worth jeopardising our coastal environment and the livelihoods of coastal communities?
"I would urge MSPs of all parties at Holyrood to sign this motion to demonstrate clear support for these crucial safeguards, and I would urge MPs of all parties at Westminster to support Mark Lazarowicz's similar motion there. I will also be writing to Scottish Ministers and urging them to make representations to Westminster in the strongest possible terms."
The motion lodged by Robin Harper MSP reads as follows:
S3M-06662 Ship-to-Ship Transfer
Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): That the Parliament welcomes the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) Regulations 2010 laid before the UK Parliament in April 2010; warmly welcomes the completion of a regulatory framework for transfers building on measures taken by the Scottish Parliament in response to proposals for cargo transfers in the Firth of Forth that were supported by all parties; supports the principle that transfer operations should be permitted only in harbours that have been licensed by ministers as safe; believes that the new regulations are necessary in order to meet the requirements of international environmental law; is concerned at lobbying by the shipping industry to annul these regulations, and urges UK ministers to ignore these efforts in favour of defending our coastal environment and communities.