A Fife MP has warned that the closure of the coastguard station at Fife Ness as part of UK Government plans to reorganise the service would have serious implications for shipping safety around the region’s coastline.
And in a strongly-worded letter to shipping minister Mike Penning, Glenrothes and Central Fife MP Lindsay Roy has also called on the minister to urgently review the controversial proposals.
“There has been little if any consultation locally and many people consider the plan to be irresponsible and unrealistic,” he said. “Reducing the number of coastguard sites in the UK from 18 to eight, with only one 24-hour manned station remaining in Scotland at Aberdeen, does not meet our needs.”
Under the plans Fife Ness and the coastguard station on the Clyde will close. There will be only one other sub-centre in Scotland, in either Shetland or Stornoway, and that will only be staffed during daylight hours.
Overall staff numbers in the coastguard will fall from 596 to 370 with 20 posts at risk at Fife Ness, which covers a 344-mile stretch of Scotland’s east coast. Last year the dedicated team there dealt with some 670 incidents.
Announcing the proposal in December, Mr Penning said that while the coastguard had a long and distinguished history, it could not stand still.
He was also critical of the lack of national co-ordination between the centres which, he said, can result in an uneven distribution of workload.
But the proposal has been roundly condemned by many MPs and unions, who say it is an extreme reaction. There are real fears that lives will be lost and Mr Roy has urged the government to think again.
“Better co-ordination should be the priority, with local stations ready and able to respond promptly to issues as they arise,” he said. “The safety of people using our waters must be paramount.”