Shell: “Going Out The Way You Came In”

mayo | environment | news report

Thursday June 23, 2005 14:20

by Terry C via a Wireless Microphone To James R

Locals Block Illegal Shell Transportation Vehicle

Its déjà vu all round in Rossport as local residents once again find themselves pitted in opposition to Shell operations in and around the compound, blockading vehicles engaged in work for Shell. Holed up in the back of a van you have an inter-generational mix of people from 13-65, cups of tea are being swilled back with great gasps of”ahhh”, and the ham sandwiches are doing the rounds. The song of the moment, “Going Out The Way You Came In” an oldie from the Irish Country Star Big Tom, is being played on Midwest Radio due to locals requests.

One person holed up down there described that "What arose is the same thing that happened on the June 9th report, it’s the same stretch of road. You've got security guards parked in front of the truck and a few local vehicles, then there’s a truck a low loader with pipes on the back and we're all sitting in a van chatting."

Willie Carduff who was pictured in an earlier report on Indymedia today said "we are here for the long haul…we are here for however long it takes to get the truth out."

The issue here is that there is no traffic management plan. Management is supposed to be via consultation with the local residents and it’s supposed to be that the public have to come first over the developers. Residents were previously assured that there was going to be traffic management; this was guaranteed the Thursday after the solidarity gathering in Rossport.

So now residents are blocking a low loader with pipes. A low loader is a vehicle specifically for bringing in machinery such as bulldozers and not materials. Now it is unable to move, as it has to unload the pipes before it can because it is illegal for to transport pipes. The gardai have witnessed this breach of the law.

The driver is a local truck contractor from Bangor, when the blockade first happened he left his cab and walked away. Then later he came back and agreed to commit on paper to a promise to locals that he would cease his own involvement in Shell operations in Rossport. He was assured he’d be welcome for his normal work, this happened on Tuesday evening. But the Gardai refused to independently witness his signature going on a document to said effect, and that is why people are still down there blockading the road..

Normal village traffic is going up and down the road grand, the road is in such a fashion because it is illegal to move the truck with materials on the back. There are a few private security there from a Longford based company called Brendan Gilmore. The Gardai have taken the names and numbers of the people who have cars on the road.

On Tuesday evening a few Shell engineers came out led by Paul Gallagher, then after that the superintendent came out and the residents expressed their concerns to him, saying they wanted a meeting with Mayo County Council and Shell. They were granted a meeting with Mayo County Council today at 2pm in Bellmullet, the meeting is to solve the traffic problem and to stop stuff coming in until the traffic situation is sorted. This morning, normal every day local traffic found extremely large machinery coming in the other road to Rossport, this machinery's function is to empty septic tanks, according to the health and safety officer in the compound. There is no planning permission for a septic tank in the compound.

According to Shell’s own traffic management plan there is to be 1,410 lorry load s coming in on the Rossport road, that has yet to happen. Most of the loads are to bring in stone to build a road in the way leave beside the pipe line route. There would appear to be no genuine traffic management plan for Rossport. The management plan over all is 115 pages, and only two are dedicated to the Rossport pipeline construction.

Contrast that with the plan for the refinery. On the roads to refinery there is a one way and two way carriage way, bridges and culverts, cones and barriers, lighting of junctions and working areas, restricted carriage way width, speed limits, separation distance accommodating local residents. Communications and record keeping, Driver training, vehicle maintenance, road condition maintenance, traffic control at junctions, emergency planning, signage, radio and print media and tipping/loading logistics.

One of the Shell engineers as said that "we will be moving our materials" but locals are insistent that they will hold their ground.