Flotta
Encyclopedia
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
.
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. But 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. It provides the landing for the Piper
and Claymore fields pipeline system. In addition, it provides a safe facility for the receipt and trans-shipment of oil produced from the UK Atlantic margins.
The island has an approximate current population of 90 people. In June 2010, the island had to close the community primary school because there were no children of that age left on the island.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in Orkney, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, lying in Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries
Orkney Ferries
Orkney Ferries is a company operating inter-island ferry services in Orkney, to the north of mainland Scotland.-History:The company is owned by the Orkney Islands Council and was established in 1960 as the Orkney Islands Shipping Company....
to Houton
Houton
Houton is a settlement 5 miles southeast of Stromness on the island of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. From here, a ferry sails to Lyness on Hoy and the oil terminal at Flotta. Nearby are the remains of the round church of St Nicholas and the Earl's Bu, the ruins of a former manor house of the Earldom...
on the Orkney Mainland and Lyness
Lyness
Lyness is a village on the east coast of the island of Hoy, Orkney.During the 1920's Lyness was briefly the headquarters of the metal salvage firm of Cox and Danks's raising of the German High Seas Fleet, scuttled by the Germans on June 21st 1919 during the Armistice.During the Second World War it...
and Longhope
Longhope, Orkney
Longhope is a coastal settlement on the island of South Walls which is one of the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland. South Walls is linked to Hoy by causeway; Longhope is the largest settlement on the two islands....
on Hoy
Hoy
Hoy is an island in Orkney, Scotland. With an area of it is the second largest in the archipelago after the Mainland. It is connected by a causeway called The Ayre to South Walls...
.
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.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. 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
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
HMS Vanguard
HMS Vanguard (1909)
The eighth HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy was a St Vincent-class battleship, an enhancement of the "" design built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness...
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
Occidental Petroleum
Occidental Petroleum Corporation is a California-based oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America...
started construction of the island's oil terminal. This became the second largest major oil terminal serving the UK North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, the largest being Sullom Voe
Sullom Voe
Sullom Voe is an inlet between North Mainland and Northmavine on Shetland in Scotland. It is a location of the Sullom Voe oil terminal. The word Voe is from the Old Norse vagr and denotes a small bay or narrow creek...
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. It provides the landing for the Piper
Piper oilfield
The Piper oilfield is a substantial North Sea oilfield. Oil extracted from it is piped to Scotland, where it is refined at a purpose built refinery on the island of Flotta, in the Orkney Islands....
and Claymore fields pipeline system. In addition, it provides a safe facility for the receipt and trans-shipment of oil produced from the UK Atlantic margins.
The island has an approximate current population of 90 people. In June 2010, the island had to close the community primary school because there were no children of that age left on the island.