The leak from an effluent pipeline in the Firth of Forth should act as a sobering reminder of the potential ”catastrophe” should ship-to-ship transfers ever be approved in the waterway, an MP has warned.
Efforts have been continuing to stem the leak, which involves waste water containing what oil company BP has described as a ”small amount of impurities”.
Lothian and Borders Police are treating the situation as a major incident and have set up a 100m exclusion zone around the scene.
Meanwhile, concerned locals have reported a sulphurous smell in the area, similar to that caused by a stink bomb.
Scottish environmental watchdog SEPA said it was ”too early” to gauge the severity of any impact.
The pipe involved carries waste water used for cleaning equipment at BP’s Hound Point Terminal and links up with the Dalmeny oil storage tank facility near South Queensferry.
Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty said the scale of the operation following the ”relatively minor” incident gives just a tiny flavour of what could be expected if ship-to-ship transfers went wrong.
Mr Docherty told The Courier: ”Thankfully this appears to be having a fairly small environmental impact. However, it demonstrates if indeed any further proof was required what we might be able to expect if any commercial ship-to-ship transfer taking place in the Firth of Forth went horribly wrong.
”It is clear that the impact on communities including Aberdour and Dalgety Bay, which have beautiful beaches and coastlines, would be catastrophic. This is why Forth Ports were wrong to propose ship-to-ship transfers and why myself and colleagues were so clear that the process must be banned before it even starts.”
BP said the waste water leaking from the pipe comprises rainwater, seawater and ”some impurities”. A company spokesman apologised to the public for any inconvenience and said the exclusion zone was ”purely precautionary”.
Opposition to ship-to-ship transfers has come from politicians on both sides of the Forth. The high level of concern had led to Forth Ports withdrawing plans to transfer tonnes of Russian crude off the coast of Methil in 2008.
In September Shipping Minister Mike Penning sparked outrage by shelving regulations to ban transfers for the third time since taking office in 2010. He said the legislation had been put on the back burner as the UK Government aimed to limit the amount of regulation passing through parliament.
Ship-to-ship transfers are seen as a cheap option as they allow the use of larger ships, which cannot dock in many ports because of their size. But with the Firth of Forth and its islands supporting around 90,000 breeding seabirds, including an internationally important colony of gannets, the prospect of them taking place had been met with horror.