Flotta

Flotta

Norse name	Flottey or Flott-øy
Meaning of name	"flat island" (Norse)
An aerial view of Flotta from the south-west. The oil terminal is visible to the centre-left, with the airstrip further to the left. South Walls is at the bottom and bottom left, and Switha at the extreme right.
Location
Flotta Flotta shown within Orkney
OS grid reference	ND352938
Coordinates	58°50′N 3°06′W / 58.83°N 3.1°W / 58.83; -3.1
Physical geography
Island group	Orkney
Area	876 hectares (3.4 sq mi)
Area rank	57
Highest elevation	West Hill 58 metres (190 ft)
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Orkney Islands
Demographics
Population	80
Population rank	48
Population density	9.1 people/km2
Largest settlement	Whome
References

Flotta is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland and Lyness and Longhope on Hoy. The island has a population of 80.

At the turn of the 20th century, the island was a quiet rural community like many other small islands of Orkney, but its sheltered location led to three major upheavals in the island in the century.

Until 1914, Flotta was a quiet farming community. In 1910, a population of 431 included two blacksmiths, four carpenters and three dressmakers.

Everything changed with the arrival of the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow at the start of World War I. There is a photograph held by the Imperial War Museum in London that shows a boxing match taking place on Flotta in front of a wartime audience of 10,000 people.

During World War I, the island was home to a naval base. The dreadnought HMS Vanguard sank nearby in 1917, reputedly the worst maritime disaster in UK waters. In WW2, the island was again used as a military base.

1918 saw the mass exodus of Navy personnel, and 1939 saw their return. After the second world war the island had good piers and facilities, but a slowly declining population. It took until 1970 for fresh water to be piped to the island from Hoy.

In 1974, Occidental Petroleum started construction of the island's oil terminal. This became the second largest major oil terminal serving the UK North Sea, the largest being Sullom Voe in Shetland.

It took only two years from the start of construction until the first of the crude oil was pumped into the terminal, during which thousands of workers were posted at the "camp" in Flotta to complete the facility as Britain's thirst for oil was growing by the day. The Flotta oil terminal was opened by the energy minister, Tony Benn MP, on 11 January 1977.