Scapa Flow Museum oil tank exhibits prepared for storage

The final major piece of work to ready the buildings at the Scapa Flow Museum for redevelopment will get underway this week, Orkney Islands Council has said.

The redevelopment project involves the restoration of historic buildings at the museum, the enhancement of interpretation and displays, and the creation of a new building which will house an exhibition space, café, toilet facilities and information areas.

The council has said the project tender documents are due to be issued to contractors by the end of this week, with work onsite expected to begin in the Autumn.

The Museum is set to reopen in March 2020. Meanwhile, a temporary exhibition on the wartime history of Scapa Flow is on show at the Hoy Hotel in Lyness.

The council has said this week’s work for the council’s Arts, Museums and Heritage team involves preparing the large objects on display in the museum’s 81-year-old Oil Tank, so these can be moved into storage.

It will be carried out under the specialist direction of Jim Mitchell, from Argyll and Bute-based Industrial Heritage Consulting Ltd, and a team from Alloa-based JPS Restoration Ltd.

The Oil Tank is a Category A-listed structure made of riveted steel plates, dating from 1937. At approximately 14 metres high and 35 metres in diameter, it was originally built to hold 12,000 tons of fuel oil.

Under consultation with Historic Environment Scotland, and managed by Jim Mitchell, the roof of the tank will be replaced and the interior blast-cleaned and repainted. This means that the interior space needs to be totally emptied of objects and display equipment.

Exhibits displayed in the Oil Tank include a Neal’s Rapid two-ton crane, used at the Lyness Royal Naval Base, and a historic lighthouse lens and mechanism from Cantick Head.

One of the biggest and most delicate tasks will be to dismantle the Cantick Head lighthouse mechanism and lens, which will be stored safely in four specially-made crates, the largest with a width, depth and height of two metres.

Once JPS Restoration have finished preparing the objects, they will be moved into storage elsewhere at Lyness by local contractor, Heddle Construction, for the duration of the development works.

The Arts, Museums and Heritage team recently began the detailed development and design work of the exhibition and internal displays with Edinburgh based contractors Studio MB.