Furious locals have been told it could be “many weeks” before a “toxic” salmon farm barge dumped in a scenic Highland bay can be salvaged.
It’s feared the sunken barge “the size of a house” could be spewing chemicals into the pristine environment at Loch Reraig, near Kishorn.
The 400-tonne fish feed container sank at a farm owned by Faroese firm Bakkafrost in Portree, Skye, during last year’s Storm Arwen.
And in August, a 500m exclusion one was placed around the site after “significant levels” of hydrogen sulphide and other gases “toxic in composition” were detected emitting from the vessel.
Locals are now fuming that the wreck has been beached in the middle of Reraig Bay, just 150 yards from houses there.
It’s parked on the edge of the Loch Carron marine protected area (MPA), home to rare flame shell beds.
Chris Troup, who stays in one of the houses on the bay, said he was “appalled” at the “obscene act” of dumping the barge in their neighbourhood.
Speaking to the Record, he said: "This is a bay where people come to walk their dogs, pick mussels and shellfish and lots of other things. It's a beautiful bay with fantastic wildlife.
"It's like corporate vandalism - they don't give a s**t, they think 'we'll just do it and take the consequences'."
Mr Troup, 78, also revealed he had managed to contact a senior manager at the firm by phone about the barge.
He said: “He wouldn’t tell me anything but I kept probing and probing him… I asked him how long it was going to be there, and he said it could be ‘many weeks’ - that was his phrase.”
The barge had lain on the seabed at Portree until recently, when it was raised so it could be emptied of 690 tonnes of waste water and feed and taken for repair or scrap.
It was towed from Skye by a giant floating crane and then beached at Reraig after claims that bad weather had made other options too hazardous.
In emails from Highland Council seen by the Record, an official warned locals “there may be a slight rotten egg odour" close by due to the hydrogen sulphide.
But they added: “The barge is sealed so levels should be very low and not toxic or hazardous.”
However, another local, Professor John Storey, an Aberdeen Uni chemistry academic, has warned the "explosive" gas is a “toxic timebomb”.
In a paper on hydrogen sulphide, he wrote: “The potential for a devastating environmental incident and risk to human health is real.”
A spokesman for Bakkafrost Scotland - previously the Scottish Salmon Company - said: “The relevant authorities are being kept informed of progress on the decommissioning process for the barge and we will work with the recovery experts to ensure a safe conclusion to the operation.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency admitted it could be well into the New Year before the barge is removed.
A spokeswoman said: “There is some further work to be done on removing the final cargo.
“It is expected this will be completed by mid-January when the barge will be inspected. It will then be removed from the site.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The area where the barge has settled is outside the Marine Protected Area. The barge does not pose an explosive risk.”
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