Petrol supplies to be dependent on ferries

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA : The tanks in Stornoway require upgrading to comply with health and safety requirements

The entire petrol requirements for Lewis and Harris will be dependent on ferry services over a three to four month period due to necessary upgrade work to be undertaken at the main fuel depot in Stornoway.

In normal circumstances, all the island’s petrol and diesel supplies are shipped in by a specialist tanker operated by Phillips 66 under a contract with Certas Energy.

However, while the maintenance and upgrade work is on-going, it will severely reduce capacity at the depot, with the result that road tankers will have to be brought over by ferry.

While Certas Energy insist that they are confident there will be no interruption to supply, there will be concern on the island, given the regularity of cancelled ferry services.

A spokesperson said: “Certas understands this interim change to the standard routine may cause concerns about potential disruptions to supply.

“However, we would like to reassure customers that the island is well stocked and the planned road-bridging is designed to ensure petrol will be available as normal while upgrade works are undertaken.

“There should be no tangible impact on customers. The local community will be kept updated throughout the process.”

They said the normal of route supply has been “temporarily suspended while we carry out health and safety and environmental upgrades to ensure the site’s long-term viability”.

“While we work to resolve this issue, petrol will be delivered via ferry and road to ensure uninterrupted supplies to the island,” they said. “No other fuels will be affected.

“Our experienced team have a robust plan and we would like to reassure customers that we do not expect any disruption to service while this interim solution is in place.

“We will revert to our standard method of petrol delivery at the depot as soon as possible.”

The company this week briefed councillors, the MP and MSP and “ will be holding face to face meetings next week as part of our commitment to openness and transparency”.