The four Maersk vessels – the Sealand Performance, Maersk Beaumont, Maersk Baltimore and Maersk Bentonville – have been moved into the loch over the last week from anchorages in the Firth of Clyde, despite protests from some nearby residents.

All the movements have been clearly visible from Rothesay Bay - with one of the ships, the Maersk Baltimore, anchoring in the bay itself over the weekend before moving into the loch on Monday.

The movements took place after the company contacted Clydeport Operations Ltd, the statutory harbour authority for the Clyde river and firth and its sea lochs, seeking permission to use the loch to lay up some of its container ships because of the global economic recession.

The four ships are expected to remain in the loch, manned by a skeleton crew, for at least six months - or until Maersk believes it is economically viable to bring them back into use.

People living near the loch asked the authority to moor the ships away from their viewpoints, but according to Clydeport this was not possible due to safety issues.

However, Clydeport has denied rumours that the loch could be used to lay up as many as 20 ships, saying the likely number will be around five or six.

"This is totally unacceptable in an area of outstanding beauty," Mr Reid said.

"Local residents will be inconvenienced and tourists will be driven away. It is nonsense that Clydeport have the power to allow these ships to be moored here indefinitely.

"I have written to both UK and Scottish Transport Ministers and urged them to use any powers they have to remove Clydeport's right to allow ships to be moored in Loch Striven and to have the ships removed immediately.

"Loch Striven should not come under Clydeport's jurisdiction."

The loch was last used to lay up redundant ships during the oil crisis of the 1970s; two gas tankers ended up being moored there for some 20 years.