 Contingency arrangements have been agreed for possible spills |
Edinburgh Council is to consider mounting a legal challenge against plans to transfer large amounts of oil between ships in the Firth of Forth. Leader Ewan Aitken said he has called for an urgent meeting with Fife and East Lothian councils to discuss a joint strategy for opposing the plans.
Mr Aitken said the councils hoped to meet with the environment minister to outline their continued opposition.
He said the proposals were risky and could have serious consequences.
"The council has always been opposed to proposals for ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth on the grounds that such a risky practice could lead to serious environmental consequences in the event of a spill," he said.
"We now call on the Environment Minister, Ross Finnie, to agree to an urgent meeting with us and Fife and East Lothian Councils to discuss these legitimate concerns and how we can work together to oppose the plans."
In July, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency announced plans to approve a scheme which would see oil transferred from Russian ships to supertankers for onward shipment.
It has since approved Forth Ports' contingency arrangements for dealing with spills during oil transfers.
A spokesman for Forth Ports said it was currently evaluating findings from an expert panel on the proposed safeguards before deciding whether ship-to-ship transfers should start.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
