Senior staff of the Shetland Islands Council Marine Operations Department (see Appendix 1) and the terminal operator with responsibility for the prevention of oil pollution or its containment and recovery are in agreement that every effort made to prevent pollution is worth many times the effort subsequently applied to effecting a cure. Tankers and combination carriers engaged in the oil trade probably present the greatest statistical risk of oil pollution within port limits because of the quantities of oil transferred in their operations. For that reason the thrust of this paper is directed at the handling of such vessels. However, the measures outlined can be readily adapted or modified to reduce the likelihood of oil pollution originating from almost any floating craft within a harbour.