Fuel supplies for Uist and Barra are being trucked in by road as repair works gets underway at the depot in South Uist.
Corrosion to inlet pipework at Lochcarnan has led Scottish Fuels to suspend ship bound deliveries pending the installation of new pipework.
These repairs aim to be complete by the end of March.
In the meantime, petrol and diesel will be delivered to Lochcarnan by road tanker from the firm’s Inverness base.
The company is confident that supplies can be maintained but has agreed to continued engagement with the Uist community so that any unforeseen ‘pinch points’ in road or ferry delivery can be quickly addressed.
The oil tanks are operated by Scottish Fuels under lease from the Ministry of Defence.
The comhairle’s transportation chairman raised the issued with Dr Brian Worrall the corporate affairs at Scottish Fuel’s parent company Certas Energy.
At the meeting, Certas reaffirmed the long term future of Lochcarnan as a key Certas depot and a programme of significant investment over the period 2018 to 2021 was outlined.
This investment will include works to the inlet pipework, jetty and storage tank bunds.
Councillor Robertson said, “We are grateful to Certas Energy for clarifying the current situation at Lochcarnan, confirming their short term investment plans and reaffirming their longer term commitment to Lochcarnan as a key network depot.
“We were assured that the depot should be fully operational by the end of March 2018, in time to meet growing fuel demand from the fishing industry and other sectors.
“Until then, we will work with Certas to make sure that any pinch points in local supply are immediately addressed.”
Concerns over Uist fuel supplies
7 February 2018