Around 12,500 people have signed a petition opposing plans to transfer nearly nine million tonnes of crude oil every year, between tankers at anchor at the mouth of Cromarty Firth.

The petition was delivered to the Invergordon headquarters of the Cromarty Firth Port Authority (CFPA) , which has applied to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for a licence to conduct the transfers. It calculates they could be worth £750,000 a year to the local economy.

However the plan has outraged local residents and environmentalists who fear “the catastrophic impact” of an oil spill on the Moray Firth dolphins, designated environmental sites, bird sanctuaries thereby hitting the vital tourist industry.

But the CFPA says it takes its environmental responsibilities extremely seriously. “In fact we take it so seriously, the port has its own full time, qualified environmental co-ordinator focused solely on environmental issues. Any work undertaken at the port must take the environment into account in accordance with national and international legislation.”

Local people point to the jetty facility at Nigg where ship to ship transfers have been undertaken for years. They fear that two tankers conducting oil transfers while at anchor in more open water, are bound to be less safe.

The MCA is still considering the port authority’s application.