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JOINT WORKING AGREED OVER REVIEW OF SHIPPING SAFETY IN MINCH 25 January 04
The Government has agreed to work in partnership with The Highland Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar over a review of shipping safety in the Minches. The Councils won this assurance at a meeting with Shipping Minister, David Jamieson MP, in London today (Monday) when they highlighted their safety concerns and their misgivings about the sinking and subsequent unsuccessful salvage of the freighter, MV Jambo, and its cargo last summer.

In the submission to Mr Jamieson and his senior advisers in the Department for Transport, the Councils said the central lesson to be learned from the sinking of the MV Jambo is how easily these sorts of accidents can occur in this particular stretch of water - even in good weather conditions - and how lucky the area has been, so far, that ships carrying more hazardous cargoes have not run aground.

Presenting the Councils' case were The Highland Council Convener Alison Magee, Vice-Convener Michael Foxley, and Councillor Bill Fulton together with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Convener Alex MacDonald and Vice-Convener Angus Campbell.

Councillor Magee said: "We had a very constructive meeting with the Minister and are delighted that he has agreed to work with us in carrying out the formal review of safety in the Minches. Government and Council officials will start work immediately. It was also agreed that each one of the points raised in our joint submission on safety will be fully analysed."

The delegation were also pleased to hear that the Government accepts that salvage and recovery procedures require improvement and that a full debrief of the Jambo incident will go ahead in the near future.

A major point raised by the delegation was that the Minches should given Maritime Environment High Risk Area and Particularly Sensitive Sea Area status, which would enable the UK Government to establish international rules and standards to control shipping in the area. In addition, the following measures should be introduced for vessels carrying over 2,500 tonnes of oil as bunkers or cargo:

• Single hulled vessels should be prohibited from entry;

• recommended routeing through the Minches becomes mandatory;

• reporting for transit through the Minches becomes mandatory;

• vessels carrying hazardous cargo should report at salient
  points throughout their passage through the Minches;

• the Maritime and Coastguard Agency should require ship owners
  whose vessels regularly carry hazardous cargoes to fit Automatic
  Identification Systems (AIS) as soon as practical;

• a Vessel Tracking System (VTS) should be installed in the
  Stornoway Coastguard station;

• Compulsory Pilotage should be introduced as soon as possible
  and, in the interim, the MCA should take steps to introduce a voluntary
  scheme for vessels carrying hazardous cargoes to carry a licensed Pilot
  on board when transiting the Minches.

The Councils have welcomed the report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, published by the Department for Transport on 17 December, which recommended that the International Maritime Organisation should carry out research into vessel traffic in the Minches and that any safety measures identified should be quickly put in place.

The Jambo ran aground on Sunday 29 June 2003 carrying a cargo of 3,300 tonnes of finely powdered zinc concentrate and 84 tonnes of bunker and lubricating oils. Over a period of 12 weeks the salvage operators attempted to recover the oils and cargo from the wreck with varying degrees of success. The salvage operation was finally abandoned on Saturday 18 October with approximately half the cargo, some 1600 tonnes of powdered zinc, remaining on the sea bed.

DELEGATION TO MEET SHIPPING MINISTER 22 January 04
Senior representatives of The Highland Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar are to meet Shipping Minster, David Jamieson, in London on Monday to explore options for safety measures to be brought in to regulate the transportation of hazardous cargo through the Minches.   The Councils will highlight their misgivings about the sinking and subsequent unsuccessful salvage of the freighter, MV Jambo, and its cargo last summer and speak more generally about the need for measures to minimise the risk of accidents in the stretch of water which separates the two council areas.

In a submission to Mr Jamieson and his senior advisers in the Department for Transport, the Councils say the central lesson to be learned from the sinking of the MV Jambo is how easily these sorts of accidents can occur in this particular stretch of water � even in good weather conditions � and how lucky the area has been, so far, that ships carrying more hazardous cargoes have not run aground.

As a first step they believe that the Minches should given Maritime Environment High Risk Area and Particularly Sensitive Sea Area status, which would enable the UK Government to establish international rules and standards to control shipping in the area. In addition, the following measures should be introduced for vessels carrying over 2,500 tonnes of oil as bunkers or cargo:

• Single hulled vessels should be prohibited from entry;

• recommended routeing through the Minches becomes mandatory;

• reporting for transit through the Minches becomes mandatory;

• vessels carrying hazardous cargo should report at salient points throughout their passage through the Minches;

• the Maritime and Coastguard Agency should require ship owners whose vessels regularly carry hazardous cargoes to fit Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) as soon as practical;

• a Vessel Tracking System (VTS) should be installed in the Stornoway Coastguard station;

• Compulsory Pilotage should be introduced as soon as possible and, in the interim, the MCA should take steps to introduce a voluntary scheme for vessels carrying hazardous cargoes to carry a licensed Pilot on board when transiting the Minches.

The Councils have welcomed the report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, published by the Department for Transport on 17 December, which recommended that the International Maritime Organisation should carry out research into vessel traffic in the Minches and that any safety measures identified should be quickly put in place.  They believe that The Department for Transport should actively engage in this review.  To this end they are asking that the DfT adopt their proposals and present them formally to the IMO for consideration. 

The Councils state: �We are confident that, with the backing of the UK Government, the threat of a future ecological disaster can be averted and, by acting pro-actively, the UK Government can demonstrate its commitment to environmental protection.�

The Jambo ran aground on Sunday 29 June 2003 carrying a cargo of 3,300 tonnes of finely powdered zinc concentrate and 84 tonnes of bunker and lubricating oils.  Over a period of 12 weeks the salvage operators attempted to recover the oils and cargo from the wreck with varying degrees of success.  The salvage operation was finally abandoned on Saturday 18 October with approximately half the cargo, some 1600 tonnes of powdered zinc, remaining on the sea bed.

The response to the sinking and the resulting salvage process was considered by the Councils to be less than satisfactory in a number of ways:-

• There was no local authority involvement in the planning, operation or monitoring of the salvage
  operation � local knowledge regarding the availability of equipment, the nature of the marine environment and the disposal of pollutants was not utilised and the affected communities felt ignored;

• The equipment used by the salvage company was inadequate � the salvage barges had to be modified twice to make them water tight;

• A failure to act quickly meant the salvage company was unable to avail of some of the best periods of summer weather conditions in the area on record, abandoning the operation due to bad weather in October, some four months after the incident happened;

• The amount of cargo recovered has been significantly over-estimated.

The Salvage Control Group is holding a debrief soon, which will be attended by representatives from The Highland Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. The Councils accept this is the most appropriate forum at which to voice their concerns in detail.  The outcomes they are seeking include, as a minimum, an acknowledgement by the salvage operators and the UK Government of the problems encountered during the operation and a commitment from the UK Government that local authorities will be properly involved and consulted from the earliest stages should future salvage operations be required.

In their submission the Councils conclude: �We are not seeking to apportion blame for the errors made in the handling of the salvage operation.  We are interested in learning from the experience and ensuring that future operations do not repeat the mistakes.  Most importantly, we are looking at ways to ensure that incidents of this same nature do not occur in the future.� 

Earlier
WESTMINSTER AND EUROPE TO BE TARGETED IN TANKER CAMPAIGN November 03
SEEKING A SOLUTION TO SHIPPING HAZARDS 24 November 03
SINKING HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS OF TANKER MOVEMENTS 3 July 03