The Glasgow-based Oceanic Group is known for holding glitzy ceremonies across the UK, Ireland and the United States, but multiple former staff allege its ‘rogue’ boss failed to pay them the wages they were due.
Macaques are monkeys known for their intelligence. Large numbers have been shipped more than 6,000 miles to Scotland for experiments.
A new report claims Asos, part owned by Scotland’s richest man, is still harming the environment and not adequately supporting its workers. Asos says it is committed to addressing concerns about the fashion industry.
These are the oil drilling ships which have towered over the Clyde at Hunterston Pier near Fairlie.
They’ve been lit up at night with generators and sometimes main engines running – producing a disturbing low-frequency hum, often below the audible range.
Local people such as Rita Holmes say the hum has had impacts on their health and wellbeing. Yachtsman Jackie Pearson says the ships run their engines to keep them in place after one was blown off its moorings – and the combined engines produce disturbing noise.
The Hunterston industrial area nearby was previously used to test giant offshore wind turbines, producing a similar low hum. The same area is slated to be used to make the sub-sea cables needed to bring offshore wind ashore. Local people fear that once the ships are gone the cable works will be another source of noise nuisance.
Peel Ports, which owns the pier and the industrial site, says noise levels from the ships “fall comfortably within the regulations”. The development plans for the site will bring “hundreds of highly-skilled jobs”, it claims.
Meanwhile the cable-making firm, XLCC, says it is making major efforts to ensure its operation is quiet, including noise insulation and electric power for cable-loading ships.
With the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow due in November, our podcast by Richard Baynes will let you hear the hum — and more about the impact of potential energy industries on this slice of the Clyde coast.
Listen to more of The Ferret’s Podcasts here.
Photos thanks to Richard Baynes. Music thanks to Kevin Hartnell.
Macaques are monkeys known for their intelligence. Large numbers have been shipped more than 6,000 miles to Scotland for experiments.
A new report claims Asos, part owned by Scotland’s richest man, is still harming the environment and not adequately supporting its workers. Asos says it is committed to addressing concerns about the fashion industry.
Scientists argue that research using animals is vital for the treatment and cure of human diseases like cancers. But experimenting on dogs and monkeys is controversial and critics say alternative methods should be used.
Ithaca Energy announced a major dividend on the eve of UK sanctions against companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements. A few weeks later it paid out £100m to a shareholder the UN says has ‘direct links’ to the occupied territories.
