Local MSP Jamie Stone and John Farquhar Munro are amongst those criticizing proposals in the Comprehensive Spending Review to save £32 millions by scaling back the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s emergency tug service, including the Anglian Soverign and Anglian Prince which are based around the Hebrides and Northern Isles.
The argument given is that it should be the responsibility of the private companies whose ships are in distress to finance rescue and clean-up operations. A step too far for the Big Society, considering it will be the local communities which have to deal with the consequences of any spills or disruption of services in an area reliant on the sea for passage and services.
It is especially president, considering the recent rescues of HMS Astute and MV Red Duchess by the Anglian Prince.
21/03/2012 at 16:21 |
[…] the anouncement of the Comprehensive Spending Review in late 2010, I wrote about the plans to scale-back the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s emergency tug service. This […]