Tug extension

EMERGENCY tug cover for the northern isles has been extended by another month to allow time to finalise new arrangements.

The Scotland Office is in negotiations with the oil industry to replace the dedicated coastguard tug Anglian Sovereign with the Schiehallion and Foinaven standby vessel Atlantic Frontier.

Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael, a member of the coalition government, said that time was still needed to agree the finer details of the new arrangement.

The Anglian Sovereign was initially due to be withdrawn from the service at the end of March as part of government wide cutbacks, but political pressure from the northern isles has saved one of the four tugs listed for the chop