Islay Runs Dry

Islay is running on empty. The stills are being turned off as distilleries end whisky production for the foreseeable future. The oil has finally run out. And it’s nothing to do with the Middle East.

The island’s eight distillers are dependant on nine oil deliveries a year, brought to the island by sea. The oil delivery scheduled for 17th November was turned back forcing distilleries to shut off their stills and close down production as supplies dwindled and finally ran out today.

Roughly 250 barrels per day of new whisky are made on the island which equals to a liability of £988,000 of Alcohol Duty a day. With no road tankers available for this type of oil delivery and exceptionally high freight charges by State-run ferry operator Calmac, and restricted capacity for commercial vehicles, there is no viable alternative fuel source.

The tanker returned to harbour after being moored in Lochindaal for 4 days without unloading. Although the wind was modest (for Islay) the conditions at the exposed pier was deemed to be unsuitable. Apparently only perfectly calm conditions are appropriate.

Since then, there has been a series of gales lashing the island preventing further supply. A re-supply attempt is anticipated once a period of calm weather arrives. But that is not expected soon. Islay is buffeted by 25 gales a year from low pressure systems mainly during the winter months.

The cause is a piece of well-meaning European legislation that requires that enlarged, double skin tankers are used exclusively by 2008 to prevent spillage of oil at sea. Argyll & Bute Council controversially spent £4m altering the existing pier despite strong local opposition claiming the design was not fit for the island’s exposed Atlantic location.

Although Argyll and Bute claim the pier is indeed suitable, this situation never occurred before the pier was renovated – even though the same tanker was in use. It would appear that that to avoid the risk of pulling the new pier apart, the tankers are only able to unload in totally calm weather conditions - which of course are rare in winter.

Shell have left the island in the lurch. They approved the pier as fit for purpose when it plainly isn’t. The island needs distilling - and distilleries need oil. This isn’t the Mediterranean; this is the North Atlantic. It is windy here especially during the winter. We did warn them. The whole new pier scheme has been a fiasco.

Fortunately we managed to finish our 2006 Islay-grown Bere barley distillation overnight before running out - but it was touch and go. To have lost that harvest would have been disastrous. Luckily the new boiler installed in the spring can be converted to take Diesel. Duncan, our distillery manager and engineering genius, will hopefully be able to adapt it.

The show must go on. We have Octomore and Islay Chalice to distil. With £1m worth of alcohol Duty a day is being lost. I wonder what the Chancellor of the Exchequer will have to say?

Oil was  eventually delivered to the island ( shell used our own webcams to decide when the weather was  calm enough!) and all is back to normal.