Islanders left furious as oil supply runs out

SOME families in Uist and Benbecula faced problems in keeping warm this week after the island ran out of heating oil.

Shortages emerged due to empty storage tanks at the oil depot in Loch Carnan, South Uist.

Islanders blamed Scottish Fuels for letting their tanks run dry during a cold winter, labelling the wholesaler – the only one in Uist – as “irresponsible”.

Gales have caused passenger ferry disruption on certain routes in recent days but other commercial ships continued to ply the seas around the Hebrides.

One householder hoping for a delivery for days called the situation “unbelievable” and said the crisis wasn’t due to weather and accused the supplier of bad planning.

“We have had no oil for our boiler and therefore no heating or hot water.

“We make do with borrowed electric heaters for the rest of house. No hot water – apart from a kettle – is particularly frustrating. I do not think this can be blamed on weather. For a large utility to run out of oil in the middle of winter is, in my view, irresponsible.

“Surely it’s not impossible for an operator responsible for supply of a basic necessity to have sufficient reserves in place?”

Dutch-flagged tanker MV Thun Blyth has since docked at Loch Carnan and was expected to be carrying heating oil.

A spokesman for Scottish Fuels said: “The position at our Loch Carnan depot has been caused due to delays as a consequence of poor weather at an earlier port.”

Importing by road tanker stopped when ferries were impacted by rough seas, which also prevented the late arriving sea tanker from berthing.

He added: “This is not a problem we encounter often and we appreciate the difficulties this will have caused customers. The team are working as quickly as possible to supply the product. We apologise for the delays.”