Whiddy Island

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Whiddy Island is an island in Bantry Bay, Ireland. It is about 5 km long and 1km wide. As late as 1880 it had a resident population of around 450, mainly engaged in fishing and small-scale farming. It currently has a permanent, resident population of around 30 people - although there are many visitors in the tourist season. It is served by a small ferry over the 1km channel between the island and the Irish mainland at Bantry. Irish Tourist Board :[island details]

In the last few months of World War I, it was the site of a US naval air station. It is the site of a large oil terminal constructed in the late 1960s by Gulf Oil.

On Monday January 8th 1979 a French oil tanker, the Betelgeuse, was unloading a cargo of crude oil at the oil terminal when it exploded. The blast and subsequent fire killed 50 people. This was known as the Betelgeuse incident and is considered to be the worst maritime disaster in Irish history. The terminal, which had been operational since 1969, was never fully repaired. It was transferred to the Irish government in 1986 after which it was used to hold the Irish strategic oil reserve.

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