Oil Vessels Slip Anchors Off Scotland In High Winds

Efforts are continuing to stabilise two North Sea oil vessels which lost tension in their anchors in storm-force winds.

The operation began when two linked storage vessels suffered problems about 118 miles east of Aberdeen.

The Apollo Spirit, which is storing 96,300 tonnes of oil, lost tension in one of its eight anchors but is said to have remained securely in position.

The Banff, which has 4,400 tonnes of crude oil on board, lost tension in five of its 10 anchors and moved up to 250 metres from its operational position during the height of the storm.

It is now said to be stable, around 70 metres from its original location.

The vessels are operated by Teekay Petrojarl on behalf of the licence holder CNR International.

The UK Government's Department of Energy and Climate Change said there are no reports of pollution.

Hugh Shaw, the Secretary of State's representative for maritime salvage and intervention, said all 67 people on board the two vessels were accounted for and are safe and there have been no reports of any pollution.

In a statement last night, he said: "The subsea isolation valves have been closed and secured, the maximum volume of the pipelines from the vessel to the isolation valves is approximately 120 tonnes, this includes the export line between the vessels.

"There has been no report of pollution and the risk of any spillage at this time is very low. However we are closely monitoring the situation. An anchor handling vessel is on site and lending support to both vessels. CNR International has mobilised four additional anchor handling tugs to provide further assistance."

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