CAMPAIGNERS fighting a bid to allow ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Moray Firth have until the first week in February to make sure their objections are lodged.
Cromarty Firth Port Authority (CFPA) applied for permission to carry out the operations off the coast of Ross-shire, but those against the plan said they had found out about it “by default”.
They are worried about the effects on the coastline and marine wildlife, including the dolphin population in the Moray Firth.
SNP Councillor Craig Fraser told The National: “The community and councillors found out about this by default in December.
“It did not give the community very much time to respond to this surprising application.
“The consultees – Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and Highland Council – managed to get an extension of the deadline to February 8.”
CFPA envisaged transfers of up to 180,000 tonnes no more than four times a month, making a total of 8.6 million tonnes a year.
In a report on the transfers, it said: “The proposed cargo transfers will not have any adverse effects on human health.
“Effects of disturbance of marine mammals and seabirds due to the proposed cargo transfer are considered to be insignificant, as the shipping industry and wildlife have co-existed for many years in the Moray Firth and Cromarty Firth.”
However, environmentalists said they feared the plan to transfer heavy crude and medium oils could cause an environmental disaster, and have said it would pose a much greater risk than ship-to-ship transfers at the nearby Nigg oil terminal, which are already licensed.
Fraser added: “The communities rely on a healthy tourism industry. It’s such a pristine environment.
“We lost the Invergordon smelter back in the early 1980s and it’s taken a generation for the water quality to return to where it was.
“It only takes one pollution spill to destroy that again.”
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