Write to your MP on Ship-to-Ship oil transfers

SAS are supporting a Private Member's Bill, introduced by Edinburgh MP Mark Lazarowicz, which will require the Secretary of State for Transport to introduce regulations governing the transfer of cargos at sea, including oil.

Importantly, the Private Member's Bill also specifies that ship-to-ship transfers must meet environmental protection standards, and be treated in the same way as ship-to-shore operations.

We need your support to ensure this Bill gets the backing of Mr Lazarowicz's fellow MPs.

Adequate regulation needed

SAS have helped lead and support actions against a proposed ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth. Click here to read more on this.

We are not opposed to ship-to-ship oil transfers – existing facilities at Scapa Flow and other northern harbours have been well-managed - but we do want to see all types of oil transfer adequately regulated, so that the precious marine environment is protected from the risk of pollution.

Oil spills kill birds and wildlife and can present a health hazard to recreational water users, so the consequences of a large spill at sites such as Lyme Bay, Falmouth, or the Firth of Forth, would be disastrous. A spill would also have serious social and economic consequences for local communities.

At present, there is no regulatory regime to enable a strategic assessment to be carried out to look at the need for ship-to-ship transfers, or that includes consideration of alternative solutions and the public interest.

The UK Department for Transport (who are responsible for shipping matters throughout the UK), have repeatedly promised to introduce regulations governing ship-to-ship oil transfers but have thus far failed to do so.

Furthermore, they have indicated these regulations would only confine transfers to harbour areas, without regulating the transfer process itself. This would be an unsatisfactory outcome for recreational water user sites such as Falmouth and the Firth of Forth, and for the marine environment as a whole.

We hope the Government will reconsider the timetable for ship-to-ship regulations, and support Mr Lazarowicz's Private Member's Bill. This would ensure that the Bill would have enough time to pass through Parliament and become law, resulting in the swift introduction of regulations.

The transfer process

Ship-to-ship oil transfer is a process by which oil cargo is transferred from one ship to another, usually to facilitate onward transport. Operations often involve oil cargo transfer from a series of small vessels, known as daughter ships, to a larger tanker for onward shipping. The laden daughter ship approaches and is coupled to the mother ship at anchor. The mother ship remains at anchor if multiple transfers are undertaken, making its way to the high seas once it has a full load.

Such transfers are currently proposed at Falmouth Harbour in Cornwall, the Firth of Forth, near Edinburgh, Lyme Bay, and Southwold in Suffolk. Transfers already take place at Scapa Flow, Orkney and Sullum Voe, Shetland, and alongside the existing oil terminal in Nigg Bay, north of Inverness.

What to put in your letter

Please support the campaign, which is being led in the non-governmental organisation (NGO) world by the RSPB www.rspb.org.uk .

Write to your local MP and urge them to show their support for the Bill and attend its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 25 January 2008.

You may find the following points useful when writing:

• A lack of regulations governing ship-to-ship oil transfer means the risks of any operation, all of which could have a potentially catastrophic impact on seabirds and their habitats should an accident occur, are not assessed. In addition, it is currently not possible to attach conditions to transfer operations.
• Regulations could ensure any environmental assessment looked at the wider environmental quality. This would include risks to seabirds and other wildlife, and also impact on beaches and coastal communities more generally.

If you don’t know who your local MP you can find their contact details at www.parliament.uk/directories/directories.cfm

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