DARLING UNVEILS MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL HIGH RISK AREAS - SCOTLAND

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling today unveiled 14 locations around the coast of Scotland that have been given Marine Environmental High Risk Area (MEHRA) status. The primary purpose of MEHRAs will be to inform mariners of areas of high environmental sensitivity where there is a realistic risk of pollution from merchant shipping.

The introduction and status of MEHRAs put into effect recommendations made by the late Lord Donaldson in his report, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas, following the Braer tanker disaster off the Shetland Islands in January 1993. He said that their primary purpose was "... to inform [ships'] Masters of areas where there is a real prospect of a problem arising.".

The locations of MEHRAs have been identified after taking into account shipping risk, environmental sensitivity and protective measures already in place at each location. In Scotland the following MEHRAs have been identified:

Muckle Flugga, Fethaland, Tor Ness, North St Kilda, South St Kilda, Gallan Head, West Islay (2 MEHRAs), St Abb's Head and Eyemouth, Bass Rock, Dunbar, Isle of May, Newburgh, Kinnaird Head.

Mr Darling said:

"The Government has looked very carefully at every part of the Scottish coastline and assessed the potential impact of commercial shipping on the local environment. As a result, we have identified 14 locations around the Scottish coastline that should be given MEHRA protection.

"MEHRAs will be an essential aid to passage planning since their primary purpose is to inform ships' masters of areas where they need to exercise even more caution than usual. This is just part of the information available to mariners to enable them to navigate UK waters safely."

Speaking about the Minches, Mr Darling said:

"We have a continuing programme of vessel traffic surveys around the UK coast. As part of this programme, traffic surveys of the Minches and the waters to the west of the Hebrides were carried out, and on the basis of these surveys, we are going to propose new protective routeing measures for the Minches to the International Maritime Organization in July. The measures which we will propose are the introduction of a new traffic separation scheme off Neist Point and the upgrading of the existing recommended tracks (through the narrows south of the Shiant Islands) to IMO-adopted status as recommended routes. It is worth noting that the Minches already benefit from improved vessel traffic monitoring because of the increased number of ships carrying Automatic Identification Systems, and that this too has the effect of enhancing safety of navigation and providing additional protection for the waters and the coasts of the Minches."

MEHRAs will now be notified by a Marine Guidance Note to mariners who will be expected to exercise an even higher degree of care than usual when passing through them. They will also be marked on Admiralty charts.

Mr Darling made his announcement in a Written Statement to Parliament.