Moray Firth oil transfer petition nears 100,000 mark
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CAMPAIGNERS opposing ship to ship oil transfers in the Moray Firth will hand over a petition to Highland Council tomorrow (Thursday).
Members of Cromarty Rising and 38 Degrees will present the petition to councillors as they arrive for the last full meeting before the local government elections on May 4.
The handover will take place at council headquarters in Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, at 9am.
Cromarty Rising says: "This will send a peaceful visible message showing the strength of feeling of communities and businesses against ship to ship crude oil transfer operations."
The petition has been signed by nearly 100,000 people.
The Port of Cromarty Firth at Invergordon is seeking consent to transfer up to 8.6million tonnes of crude per year between vessels in the Moray Firth.
The port says it is has the trained staff, necessary facilities and contingency plans in place to ensure the operations are undertaken safely.
But campaigners say the risk of an oil spill in the environmentally protected waters of the Moray Firth is too great, and such an incident could ruin livelihoods and the firth's marine life including its rare bottlenose dolphins.
The petition can be signed at:
https://you38degrees.org.uk/petitions/danger-to-sea-life-from-oil-spills?bucket=blast
