09 June 2016

Aberdeenshire Council to host oil spill exercise at Macduff Harbour

Macduff Harbour will be the focus of a full-scale oil spill exercise led by Aberdeenshire Council tomorrow (Fri, Jun 10).

Exercise Britannia has been arranged to test the harbour’s oil spill contingency plan, and to offer practical emergency response experience to a range of partners.

The exercise will run from mid-morning until early afternoon and will include hands-on deployment of equipment in the harbour itself and the immediate surrounding area of Macduff and Banff.

Joining Aberdeenshire Council will be the Grampian Emergency Planning Unit and the Highland and Moray Councils.

Also invited to take part are the Maritime Coastguard Agency, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Marine Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and Briggs Environmental Services, as well as senior Aberdeenshire Council representatives.

Exercise organiser George Cameron said: “All our harbours have very comprehensive emergency response procedures in place, but it’s important that we test these plans to ensure we are able to respond quickly and efficiently should an actual incident occur in the future.

“Residents will notice a lot of activity at the harbour mid-morning and into the afternoon but should not be alarmed.

“The exercise has been very carefully planned and we will not be releasing any fluids or materials into the water itself.

“We are very pleased that so many of our partners have been able to join us for this exercise and look forward to a very productive day.”