Concerns about the safety of shipping LNG into Milford Haven are bound to increase following the release of the official report into a shipping accident last year, according to Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has just issued its report into the collision of the tanker 'Prospero' with a jetty at Milford Haven on December 10, 2006. It states that the Prospero, and its sister ship, 'Bro Sincero', had been involved in previous accidents and incidents, but no action had been taken.

The report is also critical of the lack of knowledge of the ship's officers and shore staff of the ship's propulsion control system. This, it states, "resulted in a vessel whose resilience to defects and emergencies was significantly weakened."

A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth stated: "It is incredible that a tanker that had experienced previous accidents and failings was allowed into Milford Haven without any action being taken. Vehicles that fail their MOT are not allowed onto the road, yet it seems that a defective ship carrying a hazardous cargo is allowed to sail into one of the country's busiest ports.

"We also now learn that the ship's control systems were so complicated and specialised that nobody on the ship fully understood how they worked.  

"It is impossible for local pilots to fully understand all the different types of control systems on modern ships. This means that more responsibility is likely to be taken by the ship's master, with the result that more risks are likely to be taken as he is under pressure to stick to strict timetables to get the cargo in or out of port.

"This accident raises more serious concerns about the safety of shipping LNG into Milford Haven. Clearly, things are not as they should be."