Fully-laden tankers will no longer lie off coast, SIC says

The Hovden Spirit off the coast of Quarff in February. Photo: SIC.

Fully-laden oil tankers will not lie off the isles coast unnecessarily, Shetland Islands Council has said.

The SIC said discussions between the council and the oil industry had led to confirmation that tankers will leave Shetland’s waters after loading at Sullom Voe.

The issue was raised after several cases of fully-laden tankers lying near to the isles for weeks at a time.

Convener Malcolm Bell said he was “pleased” the oil industry had committed to protecting the isles environment.

“Tankers lying at anchor off the Shetland coastline while loaded with crude oil present an obvious environmental risk and it’s prudent that all parties involved take steps to minimise this. 

“We’ve been in dialogue with oil companies, shipping agents and operators for some months to raise our concerns about floating oil storage and I’m glad that we’ve now reached a shared and consistent view on this.”