Dolphins may hold the key to diverting ship oil transfers

DOLPHINS, which have been observed playing in the waters off St Andrews Bay, could hold the key to whether ship to ship oil transfers can be diverted away from the Firth of Forth. Warnings that the waters off the Fife coast were at risk of a potentially devastating oil spill followed fast in the wake of last Friday’s announcement that Forth Ports has been granted permission to transfer millions of tonnes of crude oil from ship to ship in the Firth of Forth. The announcement by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) follows the revelation that an investigation had been launched by the European Union to assess whether the proposals breach environmental regulations.