'Victory for Scotland's coastline' as risky oil transfers banned on Forth

The coalition government had reopened the prospect of the potentially dangerous practise because of pressure from Tory and Lib Dem MPs in the south west of England.

They had wanted ship-to-ship transfer of oil in ports in the region, but their pressure meant that an order put in place by the last Labour government banning the practice from April next year was reviewed, opening up the opportunity for it to also happen in Scotland.

A controversial proposal by SPT Marine Services to transfer 7.8 million tonnes of Russian crude oil between ships in the Forth was withdrawn in February 2008 after the government promised to introduce the regulations.

At the time environmental groups led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) had warned of potential disaster to an important area for birds and wildlife.

A briefing by the RSPB to Holyrood in 2007 noted that the Firth of Forth and its islands including the Bass Rock and the Isle of May are home to internationally important numbers of breeding seabirds, including gannets and wintering waterfowl.

This is also recognised in their designation as Special Protection Areas (SPA) under the EU "Birds" Directive. But yesterday shipping minister Mike Penning announced, following a review of regulations, that instead of a general prohibition, ship-to-ship transfers outside harbour authority areas will be restricted to a single designated area off the north Suffolk coast, but not in Scotland or the south west of England where the original pressure had come from.

He said: "Ship-to-ship transfer operations have been common in UK waters for many years with a generally excellent safety record

"These new regulations aim to strike a balance between supporting those who benefit from such operations and ensuring they are properly monitored and regulated."

But he said he had been persuaded that the risks were too great on the Firth of Forth.

Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty, who secured a debate earlier this year on the issue, and Edinburgh North and Leith MP Mark Lazarowicz had led protests against allowing the practice to take place in the Firth of Forth.Last night Mr Docherty said: "I am delighted that the pressure applied by Labour MPs and MSPs has resulted in a victory for the Scottish environment."

He added: "If there had been an accident during these operations, the resulting damage to the coastline along the Firth of Forth could have been catastrophic.

"I am pleased that the minister has listened to the concerns raised by myself, colleagues, local authorities and the RSPB and rejected the demands of Forth Ports and their shipping lobbyists."

He also pointed out that the minister had also rejected the shipping lobbyists' demands for self regulation.

Mr Docherty said: "We would never let the railways have self regulation, so why on earth they thought they should be any different?

"This is a victory for the Scottish environment and a victory for common sense."