The recovery of a sunken fishing vessel in the Sound of Mull is to go ahead tomorrow, Scottish Sea Farms has confirmed, but fresh concerns have been raised over the amount of fuel that has spilled into the water.

On Thursday 4 July a fishing vessel, the Julie Anne, sank to the bottom of the 20-metre-deep seabed at the Fiunary fish farm owned by Scottish Sea Farms (SSF).

Over the last two weeks, SSF with the advice and help of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) have been attempting to limit the damage caused by the sinking and figure out how to safely remove the boat.

However, due to fuel spilling out the Julie Anne, activists have been closely monitoring the nearby waters for pollution and have previously called for a wider review of the salmon fishing industry whilst saying the incident has been inadequately addressed, and the severity of pollution understated.

New footage shown to The Herald shows the fuel from the Julie Anne floating around the salmon farmNew footage shown to The Herald shows the fuel from the Julie Anne floating around the salmon farm (Image: Ecotricity)

The removal of the fuel has not been fast enough for environmental activists who have sent footage filmed on Wednesday 18 July to the Herald showing fuel still in the water and next to the salmon nets.

The footage was sent by Jamie Moyes, head of the organisation 'Abolish Salmon Farming'. He has been monitoring the situation on-site near Fiunary and expressed scepticism about the handling of the incident.

He said: "The quarantine of these salmon is a clear indication of the severity of this environmental disaster. It raises serious questions about the initial claims the fuel was contained."

"This quarantine measure, while necessary, comes too late. We've been calling for action for days while watching this environmental tragedy unfold".

However, SSF has responded to the claims saying the decision to keep the fish on the farm was made the day of the incident, and despite having hoped to have the vessel removed within the week, confirmed it should be out of the water on Saturday 20 July.

SSF Head of Technical with responsibility for food safety and quality, Andy Gourlay said: “We made the decision to keep the fish on the farm the minute the incident was reported on the morning of 4 July. It’s due diligence and what any responsible food producer would do. 

“The focus, in the days since, has been on containing and removing the fuel on-board and, with that now done, re-floating the vessel.

“Once achieved, we will, without question, test the fish on the farm to ensure they meet all food safety standards – this testing being in addition to the robust testing regime we uphold on all our fish, all year round.”

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson stated: "The council's Environmental Health service is working closely with other agencies and Scottish Sea Farms, who implemented their emergency application last week. There is no immediate risk to food safety as the fish have been quarantined, pending the outcome of analysis, and will not be placed on the market until the result of tests are known and actions agreed with the council."

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The removal will only go ahead if tests on Friday are successful. The final pieces of equipment are being installed ahead of the small test lifts to ensure the vessel is in the best position for raising.

If the tests are completed to satisfaction, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will approve the recovery mission to go ahead on Saturday and have the Julie Anne safely towed away.

The MCA also addressed the concerns raised by the footage of oil in the water by saying the pollution was minimal.

A spokesperson added: “Following the sinking MCA, along with multi-agency stakeholders, has been monitoring a salvage and recovery operation currently underway just northwest of Fiunary in the Sound of Mull.

“We conducted several surveillance flights of the site and continue to monitor the situation while working with Scottish Sea Farms operators and their appointed pollution and salvage responders.

“A plan has been formed by the salvors and this has been reviewed by the MCA prior to salvage commencing. As an early action of this overall plan, and to mitigate against further pollution, the salvors have removed all remaining fuel held onboard the sunken vessel. As expected, a small amount of pollution is still being observed but volumes are small and dispersing.

“This does not currently pose a significant or long-term pollution risk. Given the current flow in the area concerned, small quantities lost from containment are inevitable, which is why oil removal from the wreck was prioritised.

“Preparatory work on site to prepare the vessel for safe lifting has almost been completed and our understanding is the lift may take place this weekend. The Secretary of State’s Representative remains involved and is monitoring recovery actions throughout.”

SSF originally hoped to have the boat removed within the week but says the process has been ‘painstaking’ as they want the vessel to be removed on the first attempt.

(Image: SSF)
The Sound of Mull sinking is not the first time that a fish farm vessel has led to a diesel leak, impacting the environment – and in some previous cases the fish in the farm itself. A fish farm in Canada was fined £500,000 for a diesel spill that took place in 2017 and sent 500 litres of diesel into the Campbell River in British Columbia. In 2008, supermarkets pulled salmon from sale because of “unpleasant” diesel contamination.

The sinking of the Julie Anne is the first time in close to 25 years that a Scottish Sea Farms vessel has been lost to the seabed.

The cause of the Julie Anne sinking is still unknown, but SSF says they plan carry out a thorough inspection of the vessel once resurfaced to identify the reasons why.