June 30th 2010
“Increased bunkering will further degrade our quality of life”
Just 10 days ago the ESG issued a press release urging Govt to address the problem of invasive fugitive fumes (OFFENSIVE SMELLS) related to offshore, ship to ship bunkering, affecting many south and west district residents. Not only has our plea on behalf of the many callers and complainants been ignored, but it appears that Government is now opening the way for expansion of this activity on the eastern side of the Rock.
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Whilst the Government has said that the plans are subject to an environmental impact study the mere fact that Government is prepared to extend bunkering to the Eastside is worrying in the extreme.
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Clearly relying on a passive public reaction, Government heralds this step as good for the economy, more money in the coffers, and that, seems to be all that matters. The ESG and we believe, many in our community, will disagree and so we are considering launching a petition. The purpose would be to gauge what the local community thinks of Government’s management of this issue particularly as it had promised, in its last manifesto, (among many other unfulfilled green promises), that it was strongly considering relocating bunkering operations onto land to minimise impact on people and the environment. Was this seriously intended, or was Government merely responding to the concerns of voters at the time!!
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The ESG calls upon GOG to inform the public what are the economic benefits to Gibraltar and whether they have also factored in the loss of revenue from tourism activities due to the increased unattractiveness of our beaches and sea front due to the presence of tens of tankers a short distance from shore plus the effects of noxious smells on our beaches in the east side. This is without even considering oil pollution from the many potential small oil losses on fuel transfers washing onshore during the prevailing Levante.
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The ESG has been reasonably fair in its campaigning and lobbying for safer bunkering practices in Gibraltar, recognising progress at the Port and a clear intent even within the Tripartite system, to consolidate preventative measures at a cross-border level. However we still do not know if full implementation of VTS (vessel tracking systems) on both sides of the Rock is now operational. (This along with organising channels for ship movements and many other recommendations were made in subsequent accident reports into collisions on the eastern side of Gibraltar).
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We also do not yet know if the Tripartite Forum will be delivering on its proposed programme of environmental protection and coordination in all maritime activity as it pledged to do back in July 2009. Surely this planned bunkering expansion ahead of a Tripartite “plan” can only be seen as a retrograde step to what the Forum is planning and even a slap in the face of the Forum’s efforts in working towards a safer environment.
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The ESG considers it premature of the Gibraltar Government to make this announcement. It demonstrates its lack of sufficient care over environmental issues. At the same time it has yet to deliver on the promises it has made along the way which can only be seen as quelling public criticism and fobbing off political backlash.
The ESG is considering a petition because we believe this step is one too far.
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