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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Oil platform evacuated after radioactive ship catches fire in North Sea | Oil platform evacuated after radioactive ship catches fire in North Sea |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An oil platform in the North Sea has been evacuated after a ship carrying radioactive material caught fire and began drifting in the Moray Firth. | An oil platform in the North Sea has been evacuated after a ship carrying radioactive material caught fire and began drifting in the Moray Firth. |
| The Parida was transporting a cargo of radioactive concrete waste when a fire broke out in one of her two funnels. | The Parida was transporting a cargo of radioactive concrete waste when a fire broke out in one of her two funnels. |
| The blaze has been extinguished, but 52 workers were taken from the Beatrice platform by helicopter as a precaution. | The blaze has been extinguished, but 52 workers were taken from the Beatrice platform by helicopter as a precaution. |
| Aberdeen coastguard said the ship was under tow and was heading to the Cromarty Firth to secure anchor. | Aberdeen coastguard said the ship was under tow and was heading to the Cromarty Firth to secure anchor. |
| The crew members will then decide whether to attempt to restart the engine. | The crew members will then decide whether to attempt to restart the engine. |
| The coastguard were alerted at about 20:00 on Tuesday as the Danish registered Parida was taking a cargo of radioactive concrete from Scrabster to Antwerp in Belgium. | |
| The platform staff were flown to RAF Lossiemouth shortly before midnight. Parida was around seven miles from the platform at the time. | The platform staff were flown to RAF Lossiemouth shortly before midnight. Parida was around seven miles from the platform at the time. |
| A Shetland Coastguard spokesman said: "The Parida is now under tow by the vessel Pacific Champion. | |
| "The coastguard emergency towing vessel from Orkney was tasked to go and prevent the Parida from drifting but before the coastguard vessel arrived on scene the owners agreed a commercial tow with Pacific Champion." | |
| There were no reports of any injuries. | |
| Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the Scottish government was "closely monitoring" the incident. | |
| He said: "A Scottish government resilience meeting has taken place with key partners including Police Scotland and the Maritime Coastguard Agency, which is co-ordinating an operation to stabilise the vessel and ensure it is safely recovered to harbour. | |
| "Ministers have been briefed and Scottish government officials are engaging closely with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the UK government and key partners to ensure appropriate response arrangements are in place." |