Port of Cromarty Firth boss urged to speak to Cromarty residents in growing row over rig noise nuisance
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
FRESH hostility is flaring between a port authority and townsfolk left distressed by months of relentless noise pollution from resting oil rigs.
Cromarty Rising, an action group that campaigned to halt ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Moray Firth, has rallied behind local objectors in the Black Isle town.
Residents including Royal Hotel owner Jenny Henderson are concerned that the nearby rigs are affecting quality of life and harming tourism in the town.
Householders have complained of regularly being kept awake at night by loud noise and vibrations from the giant structures.
Rejecting calls for talks with Cromarty residents, Port of Cromarty Firth (PoCF) chief executive Bob Buskie responded by insisting there was already regular dialogue between the trust port and the firth’s communities.
Mr Buskie also emphasised the benefits of the port’s activities to the local and Highland economy, while claiming the location of rigs ‘resting’ in Cromarty Firth waters was dictated by complex factors.
He predicted the current high level of firth activity would be short-lived as the global oil markets recovered.
PoCF estimates it contributes £275million a year to the Highland economy. It returned a record profit of £4.1 million last year, which it says was reinvested in port facilities to attract jobs and economic activity.
Mr Buskie also insisted trust port status made it illegal for PoCF to offer direct financial compensation to communities harmed by its business activities.
Those arguments failed to appease local protestors, though.
Cromarty Rising said PoCF had a duty to help those “suffering as a result of its operations”.
"But if they have to be, could not the quieter 'resting' rigs be positioned nearest the shore? If the PoCF was to commit to such a course of action, Cromarty residents would see it as an act of good faith. It could begin a new chapter and help improve relations with the port authority, previously so strained by the ship to ship oil transfer episode." - Cromarty Rising
Calling for proper community engagement within Cromarty, it challenged other port authority claims.
The group said: “There are many in Cromarty who have spent a lifetime working in the oil and gas sector, offshore and onshore, and know only too well its economic importance. They built the rigs,
worked on them, maintained and serviced them. They and everybody else in the community that shares its name with the firth, want to see good quality and permanent local jobs at a time when so many are being lost elsewhere.
"There is, however, a question mark over just how many jobs those rigs that are 'resting' actually provide. While they may be visually offensive to some visitors and local inhabitants alike, they are not the source of the noise pollution which has troubled so many and been the subject of complaints to the Port and the Highland Council. The rigs which arrive in the firth for work to be done on them, are the ones keeping people awake at night.
"Mr Buskie said that the anchorage points are chosen by the rig owners. But it is the port authority which decides the location of the different options offered. He said this was a complex business. Surely it cannot be too difficult to ensure that those anchor points closest to Cromarty (10,11 and 12) are not used during the summer months – a time so crucial to our economically vital tourism businesses, currently struggling to emerge from the shadow of pandemic. But if they have to be, could not the quieter 'resting' rigs be positioned nearest the shore? If the PoCF was to commit to such a course of action, Cromarty residents would see it as an act of good faith. It could begin a new chapter and help improve relations with the port authority, previously so strained by the ship to ship oil transfer episode.
"It would show that the authority understands that the engagement/consultation that Mr Buskie spoke of, is a two-way process; that it involves listening as well as simply announcing.Mr Buskie could easily demonstrate his commitment to such genuine stakeholder engagement by taking the trouble to come to Cromarty to talk to local residents, something he hasn’t managed to do hitherto. He could start by explaining why so many rigs have to be at this end of the firth, when there would appear to no obvious reason for them not to be spread more widely across the waterway.
"It would also help if on occasion the PoCF was to hold its public meetings in Cromarty or elsewhere on the Black Isle. After all the Cromarty Firth has two sides, and the normal venue of Kincraig Castle Hotel is not exactly handy for those living on the southern shore. The Port of Cromarty along with other port authorities were created by an Act of Parliament in the interests of the nation and its people. It therefore has duty to help those living closest to its operations, when they are suffering as a result of its operations."
Highland Council confirmed investigations into Cromarty's noise pollution were ongoing.
A spokesperson said: “Our environmental health service has received a number of noise complaints in recent months regarding the oil rigs in the Cromarty Firth.
"The circumstances of the individual complaints and the rig owners can vary, so our officers liaise closely with the Cromarty Firth Port Authority and Global at Nigg to try and find a solution.
"On each occasion to date, mitigation measures have managed to be taken to help reduce the noise levels but we appreciate there are still some concerns.
"While the Covid-19 restrictions have meant it has not been possible to undertake noise monitoring in residents' properties, our environmental health service aims to conduct noise monitoring in the coming weeks should any further complaints arise. They will continue to work closely with the port authority to address any problems identified.”
Related: Port of Cromarty Firth boss reacts to concerns about rig noise
Using Cromarty as a rig graveyard is not right
Residents demand action on noise concerns
Click here to return to the Northern Times news menu
