Forth Wars E-Card

Mr Charles Hammond
Chief Executive,
Forth Ports Plc,
1 Prince of Wales Dock
Leith
Edinburgh EH6 7DX

Dear Mr. Hammond,

As a supporter of Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) I am writing to ask you to reject the proposal from SPT Marine to transfer millions of tonnes of crude oil each year between tankers in the Firth of Forth. The Russian export blend crude oil has been described as very dense, thick oil, making it particularly persistent in the event of a spillage.

As you must be aware, the Firth of Forth is an exceptional marine environment and is highly valued by many communities and organisations, including recreational water users who use the water all year round. Ship-to-ship oil transfers are risky operations and I believe this proposal represents a huge risk to preserving the pristine natural environment of the Forth.

A Scottish Green Party investigation has already found SPT Marine was involved in a 35,000 gallons oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico - but failed to disclose the information when providing official evidence to the Scottish Parliament. Instead, SPT Marine claimed an "excellent" record on ship to ship oil transfers by only referring to incidents dated after the shocking oil spill in 1995.

I am particularly concerned that the final decision can only be made by Forth Ports plc.

As a company set to benefit financially from the contract it is inappropriate that Forth Ports is also deemed the custodians of the Forth’s environment. SAS believes that the ultimate say on specific oil transfer proposals should lie with publicly-elected and accountable Executive ministers, not a private company.

In the interest of preserving the Forth’s unique marine environment, I call on you and the board of Forth Ports plc to reject SPT Marine’s ship-to-ship oil transfer proposal.