Ship to ship oil transfers already take place at Scapa Flow in Orkney

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has approved Forth Ports' contingency arrangements for dealing with spills during oil transfers.

In July the MCA said it would approve the plans if some conditions were met.

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

Fife and East Lothian Councils and environmental campaigners, including the Scottish Green Party, Friends of the Earth Scotland and RSPB Scotland, are among opponents of the scheme.

A spokesman for Forth Ports said that there was no timescale for a final decision.

Once we have the findings of the expert panel we will be communicating them to key stakeholders Forth Ports Spokesman

He said: "We have been notified by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that it has given approval to the oil spill contingency plan for the proposed ship to ship transfer operations.

"It should be noted that this is just one element in the decision making process on whether ship to ship operations go ahead.

"As the competent statutory harbour authority for the Firth of Forth safety is a top priority and we will allow no operation to go ahead if we feel it could impact on that safety we work so hard to secure every day."

He said they were awaiting the findings from an independent expert panel which is carrying out a risk assessment, before finalising the assessment required by the Habitats Directive.

"Once we have the findings of the expert panel we will be communicating them to key stakeholders and taking their comments," he added.