Published: Wednesday, 23rd September, 2009 10:22am

More coal dust problems at Hunterston jetty

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Fairlie villagers were aghast as more coal dust emanated from a recent ship berthing at Hunterston jetty.

The photograph was taken by villager Colin Ironside who alerted the 'News' to the problem and said: "Summer Clydeport style - more pollution."

The picture was taken just before midday on Friday 4 September.

Recently, Clydeport announced new suppression techniques were being introduced in order to prevent the problem after a recent issue earlier in the summer when clouds of coal dust were again seen coming from one of the vessels berthed at the pier south of Fairlie.

In relation to the latest problem, a Clydeport spokesman said: "This incident occurred due to a fault with the ship's loader which resulted in coal being dropped from an inappropriate height into the hold of the vessel, causing dust to rise. The job was immediately stopped and a repair carried out to prevent any recurrence. The remainder of the 7,500 tonne cargo was then loaded without any further issues."