Politics / ‘We cannot afford another Braer in our waters’ – Carmichael warns
ORKNEY and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has used Monday’s collision of a container ship with a tanker off the Yorkshire coast to call for stronger regulation against unsafe behaviour at sea.
The tanker was transporting jet fuel for the US military, some of which is spilling into the North Sea.
Thirty-six crew members have been rescued, while one crew member from the Solong is unaccounted for.
Referring to local complaints about tankers sheltering in ‘areas to be avoided’ off the coast of Shetland, the MP said the incident was a “graphic reminder” of what can go wrong when ships collide, adding that isles could not afford another Braer.
The tanker Braer ran aground at the south tip of Shetland in January 1993, spilling her entire cargo of around 85,000 tonnes of light crude into the sea.
Carmichael said: “What we are seeing off the north-east coast of England is a graphic reminder – if it were needed – of what can go wrong when shipping vessels collide.
“We do not yet know exactly what has caused this collision but the consequences are already plain to see.
“It should be a reminder in particular of the serious risks being taken by tankers anchoring near to the Northern Isles in zones which are supposed to be understood as ‘areas to be avoided’.
“Our history is already marred by destructive examples of ships going to ground so we know more than most about the harm that can come from these events. It is a danger to human, animal and plant life alike.
“What has happened off the English coast with the Stena Immaculate and the Solong could very easily happen in our waters if the authorities do not take this as a spur for stronger regulation and to be stricter with vessels acting outside of the limits.
“We cannot afford another Braer in our waters.”
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