Stock Photo - May 05, 1969 - Oil Transfers At Sea Begin Off Britain Holiday Beaches: The shell tankers Macoma, 207,000 tons, and Drups, 70,000 tons, linked off Torbay, Devon yesterday during the first massive transfer to crude oil from one vessel to another. Off the holiday beaches of Britain. Nearly 70,000 tons of oil is being transferred in an 18-houroperation ending this morning. The macoma has to unload part of her cargo at sea because no port serving a shell refinery has yet dredged a channel deep enough for the fully-laden tankers in the 200,000-ton class. Shell is buying or chartering 29 such ships. Oil transfers will take place twice a week outside British territorial waters until deep water facilities are ready in 1970 at Rotterdam, Le Havre, Gothenburg, and Fos, near Marseiulles, Areas elected for transfers are lyne Bay, the Suffolk coast north of Felixstowe, the Liverpool sid eof the Bay of Anglesey, and the Clyde estuary between Arran and Ayrshire. 'We have to be carefull that we are nort cvreating any potentiakl Torrey Canyon Situation', Mr. Joh Kirby, marine coordinator of Shell, said tyesterday.'It would be wronmg of me to say there is no risk at all, but we have donen everything to minimise the risk, when is no more than that accepted for ordinary tankers'. The macoma will go on Rotterdam after being lighted, and the Drupa wil sail for the TYhames, the Tees or the Mersey. The alterenative to off-loading at sea would be over the hugs tankers at less than capacirty , losing oil wprth a potential 0 million in two years. (Credit Image: © Keystone Press Agency/Keystone USA via ZUMAPRESS.com)