BRO DEVELOPER, one of the tankers heading for Scotland with fuels (Photo: Charles McCrossan)

Grangemouth dispute: Ships head for Scotland with supplies
Tankers laden with fuels to relieve situation. Inaccurate media reports corrected...

Commenting on the Grangemouth dispute, First Minister Alex Salmond said: "From across Europe, unprecedented supplies of additional fuel are arriving in, and heading for, the Forth over the coming days to make up for the loss of production at Grangemouth.

"This will provide extra reassurance for consumers and businesses alike as we look ahead to the coming working week.

"And the Border Thistle tanker, carrying 3,000 tonnes of diesel and kerosene, left Grangemouth this morning and is due to arrive in Aberdeen at 6pm.

"What must happen now is that the two parties engage in discussions to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible. In that light, today's remarks by Phil McNulty of Unite that they want a period of reflection, with no plans for an escalation or new strike, and by Tom Crotty of Ineos that they will get Grangemouth fully up and running as fast as possible after the strike, are welcome."

As well as the Border Thistle tanker from Grangemouth, seven shipments are arriving in the Forth over the weekend and the early part of the week ahead, containing nearly 65,000 tonnes of fuel. These are:

· Antares from Teesport - 5,700 tonnes - Diesel and Kerosene

· BIT Octania from Gothenburg - 10,000 tonnes - Diesel

· Alsterstern from Amsterdam - 12-14,000 tonnes - Diesel

· Bro Developer from Rotterdam - 14,000 tonnes - Diesel

· Audacity from Immingham - 1,850 tonnes - Motorspirit

· Anefani from Rotterdam - 14,000 tonnes - Diesel

· Humber Fisher from Teesport - 4,000 tonnes - Diesel and Kerosene

On an average day, Scotland consumes around 6,000 tonnes of diesel fuel - so these additional imports over the coming days represent nearly 10 days of normal supply.

The Cabinet's SEER emergency response committee met again on Sunday morning in Edinburgh. Ministers were updated on a range of issues - including the current fuel supply situation. They will meet again tomorrow (Monday) to review the situation.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee has now met on 11 occasions since this situation began. The SEER emergency response unit, based in St Andrew's House, has been active for nine days and is now in its fourth day of 24 hour operation.

At midday yesterday, there were only five filling stations out of fuel - a tiny fraction of the 956 forecourts in Scotland. Seventy forecourts were partially out of fuel, but deliveries are arranged for most.

Filling stations across Scotland are generally well-stocked following deliveries sent out from Grangemouth until Sunday morning, ensuring that the country keeps moving during the current Grangemouth dispute.

And with fuel being distributed to filling stations across the country by road, and a further 65,000 tonnes arriving by sea in seven tankers from across Europe, the public can be reassured that fuel supplies will be sufficient over the week ahead.

While there may be some difficulties at the start of the week as filling stations await the additional fuel, if the public continue to refill their vehicles as normal there will be minimal inconvenience and disruption.

Some newspaper reports today contained inaccurate reporting of the situation. The facts are:

· Essential services - including ambulances and other emergency vehicles - will receive the fuel they need to continue to operate and provide their services to members of the public. Any suggestions to the contrary are entirely without foundation.

· The Astro Arcturus tanker which was reportedly not unloaded at Grangemouth was not one of the seven tankers bringing in additional fuel. Indeed it was not carrying fuel, it was carrying crude oil, which is irrelevant to the current situation.

· Phil McNulty of Unite has confirmed that there are no plans for any escalation or new strike, and they want a period of reflection after the end of the current strike. Government officials remain in close contact with relevant organisations and are monitoring the situation. We continue to urge both parties to resume discussion and try to resolve this dispute.

· The Armed Forces have not been involved and there are no current plans to involve them.