Cal Mac may face possible criminal court action over allegations that its Stornoway ferry is breaking pollution laws.
Environmental officials reacted to a complaint from that the MV Isle of Lewis was belching out dirty black smoke which broke strict air quality rules.
Western Isles Council took measurements of the particles in the smoke puffing out of the ship’s twin funnels.
Now the local authority is asking the procurator fiscal to prosecute the Scottish
Government-
A council spokesman said: “The council received a complaint about smoke emitting from the Cal Mac ferry.
“The council is now in the process of submitting a report to the procurator fiscal.”
If the case proceeds it would be heard in Stornoway Sheriff Court.
A CalMac spokesman said: "It would not be appropriate to comment on this particular allegation as the Procurator Fiscal has yet to decide whether there is a case to answer, however, we are fully aware of our environmental obligations and all our operations, including vessels, fully comply with all relevant environmental legislation.
“In addition we have in place an Environmental Management System certified to ISO 14001 which helps us manage the impact of our operations on the environment."
Stornoway ferry in pollution row 25/8/10