A TUG towing an oil rig which ran aground off Lewis last year was sailing too close to the shore, used a line in ‘poor condition’, and had ‘no contingency plan’ for stormy weather, a damning report has found, writes Sandy Neil.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) last Wednesday concluded its inquiry into the £20m Transocean Winner disaster, leading to calls for prosecutions from environmental charity Friends of the Earth Scotland.
Both Na h-Eileanan an Iar’s MP Angus MacNeil and MSP Dr Alasdair Allan urged the return of an Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) to the West Coast. The decommissioned rig was being towed past the Hebrides from Norway to Malta by the Dutch registered tug ALP Forward last August, when the tow line was lost in rough weather.