The body responsible for Scotland's seas is being condemned for saying nothing about the planned transfer of millions of tonnes crude oil, at one of the most environmentally sensitive sites in Europe.
Campaigners are angry that after 10 months the Scottish Government's body Marine Scotland has yet to comment, despite being officially asked.
The Herald revealed last Christmas that the Cromarty Fort Port Authority (CFPA) had applied to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for a licence to transfer up to nine million tones a year between tankers at the mouth of the Cromarty Firth. According to a leading expert, the location is visited more frequently by bottlenose dolphins than any other in Europe. It is also close to important bird colonies and other designated conservation sites.
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But Marine Scotland, the Directorate of the Scottish Government "responsible for the integrated management of Scotland's seas" has not given its view.
It says that under existing legislation it is not one of the MCA's statutory consultees. But the MCA says it had asked Marine Scotland to comment at the start of the process, and would be asking it again as the port authority is 'refining' its application.
Public bodies Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Highland Council (HC), have all raised concerns. Marine Scotland's silence has led to growing speculation that ministers support the port authority's plan.
CFPA insists it takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. But local communities around the Cromarty and Moray firths are convinced any oil spill could herald an environmental catastrophe, wiping out the considerable green tourism market.
Cromarty on the north east tip of the Black Isle is the closest to the transfer site. The local campaign group Cromarty Rising, has engaged a leading firm of London lawyers, to mount a legal challenge in the event of CFPA's application being approved. A spokesman said "For Marine Scotland, or its ministerial masters, to hide behind the fine print of who is on the list of statutory consultees, is outrageous.
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"This project will only earn the port authority £750,000 a year, will not create a single job, but threatens an entire ecosystem and a local economy. So silence really is not an option for those charged with responsibility for our seas."
He said local people were also outraged that the MCA would not be asking their views on the changes the port authority has made to its application..
A spokeswoman for the MCA said:
“There is no regulatory requirement for a second public consultation and none is planned. "
But she said once the CFPA's 'refinement process' was completed the MCA would forward the refined application for comment, to the same "direct consultees" addressed at the start of the public consultation including Marine Scotland as well as SNH, SEPA, HC and the RSPB. There would be further engagement with these bodies "and with the Scottish Government before a final determination is made. "
When asked why there had been no comment hitherto and whether there would be on the amended application, a Scottish Government spokeswoman for Marine Scotland would only say: “We have a legal obligation to protect Scotland’s environment, yet there is no statutory obligation for the UK Government to formally consult us – although they have consulted SNH and SEPA.
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“Our position has not changed – we expect the UK Government to formally consult the Scottish Government before a decision about the Cromarty Firth application, and any application affecting Scottish waters, is taken."
John Finnie, Highlands and Islands Scottish Green Party MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said "If ministers do support the oil transfers, as has been suggested to me, then they have a duty to explain why to local communities, given the scale of the threat against the minimal economic gain. The more so when the operators of the nearby Nigg jetty, where ship to ship oil transfers have been conducted pretty safely for decades, are reportedly now thinking of restarting the activity."
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