Ship to ship oil transfers have been proposed for the Forth

Linden Jarvis, a shareholder in Forth Ports - which is backing the scheme - said he had written twice to the Scottish Secretary to raise concerns.

Each time, his letters have been passed on to another department to deal with.

Mr Jarvis is now questioning why Scottish Executive ministers are not taking more of an interest.

Sunderland firm Melbourne Marine Services Ltd wants to transfer oil from Russia to other vessels bound for China or eastern Europe.

Forth Ports is in favour of the plan to transfer Russian oil to tankers, four miles off the Fife coast, at rates of up to 3,000 tonnes per hour.

It has already said that if the plans go ahead, safety will be paramount.