 The near-miss happened in Milford Haven harbour |
A near miss between an oil tanker and a fishing boat has led to new safety measures at a port close to the scene of Wales' worst environmental disaster. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch was asked to investigate after the two vessels came within metres of colliding in Milford Haven last December.
The Swedish 12,000-tonne Bro Axel tanker ran aground after taking action to avoid the Belgian fishing boat the Noorhinder in the early hours of 5 December 2002.
In 1996, the Sea Empress tanker ran aground at the entrance to Milford Haven estuary, contaminating 120 miles of Welsh coastline with crude oil.
The Milford Haven port authority was fined �750,000 after a court heard one of its pilots had made a navigational error which led to the Sea Empress disaster.
The authority carried out a �1.3m safety review following the Sea Empress grounding.
It has now introduced a system of navigation permits for all fishing vessels following this latest incident, which did not cause any injuries or pollution.
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales on Tuesday, the port authority's harbour master, Captain Mark Andrews, admitted that the near miss had been potentially serious.
"Fortunately it wasn't," Capt Andrews added.
"The Noorhinder got into some difficulties and got in the way of the Bro Axel.
"The Bro Axel took evasive action and ran aground."
 The Sea Empress tanker ran aground in 1996 |
The Milford Haven Port Authority reported the event to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, which then published a report.
It recommended that the port authority should introduce a more detailed control policy for vessels with more emphasis on the direction of traffic.
The authority said the near miss was the latest in a series at the port and that it had already introduced the new measures.
Capt Andrews added: "What I would like to make clear is that we are not talking about the inshore indigenous fishing community which we have no difficulty with.
"It's the deep sea offshore fishing vessels that we seem to have some difficulties with.
"We are trying to improve matters but we've had a series of these incidents.
" We have (now) introduced a navigation permit system."
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
We are trying to improve matters but we've had a series of these incidents 
