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Cargo Transfers

Answer

Local authorities do not have a role in the supervision of ship-to-ship cargo transfer operations.The application which has been submitted to the Department's Maritime and Coastguard Agency is from Forth Ports plc, and relates to the oil spill contingency plan for Forth Ports plc's harbour authority area and its revision and amplification to address the specific risks associated with ship-to-ship transfers of oil in that harbour authority area. The Secretary of State for Transport does not decide whether a ship-to-ship transfer may or may not take place. The MCA's role is limited to approving harbour authorities' oil spill contingency plans which address the potential risks of such activities.As the Secretary of State for Transport announced today, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is to co-ordinate a public consultation to assess the implications for relevant nature conservation sites of Forth Ports plc's revised and amplified oil spill contingency plan. The consultation will last 12 weeks, and is designed to establish whether the revised and amplified plan will adversely affect the integrity of those nature conservation sites.At the end of this process, in the light of the consultation responses and taking into account the advice of Scottish Natural Heritage, the statutory nature conservation authority, the MCA will finalise its appropriate assessment and consider whether any amendments to the plan are needed.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

19650; 439 c1538-9W;439 c1540W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Freight Estuaries Local government Oil Powers Ports Nature conservation Pollution control Merchant shipping Safety Shipping Maritime and Coastguard Agency Tankers Forth Ports Authority Melbourne Marine Services Firth of Forth

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk