Question reference: S5W-05637
- Asked by: Maree Todd, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 15 December 2016
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Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the fifth supplementary to question SF5-00643 by the First Minister on 15 December 2016 (Official Report, c. 15), whether it will provide an update on discussions that it has had with the UK Government regarding plans to conduct ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Cromarty Firth.
Answer
In October Scottish Ministers wrote to the Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to reiterate that the Scottish Government should be formally consulted on all applications for Oil Transfer Licences in Scottish Waters. In addition Scottish Ministers have written to the Secretary of State for Transport requesting devolution of the responsibility for ship to ship oil transfer licensing. As a result of this correspondence, an initial meeting between officials of Marine Scotland and MCA took place on 13 December 2016 to discuss how the Scottish Government should be consulted on a revised Cromarty Firth application.