The isle of Islay in Scotland is known for producing some of the most popular Scotch whisky across the entire region of this part of the whiskey world. It is an island, though, meaning it takes some additional effort to get the whisky to the mainland before it heads out to greater global markets for distribution. This is where ferries play a crucial role, with one in particular, the MV Finlaggen, standing out for winning an international safety award recently in part due to how this precious cargo is handled.

The MV Finlaggen ferry is managed by Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), a ferry operator which shuttles people, vehicles and cargo between Scotland and many of its major islands off its west coast, including Islay. The carrier as a whole is apparently responsible for shuttling “some 25 per cent of Scotland’s annual malt whisky output from its island birthplace,” with the Finlaggan being said by CalMac to carry “more bulk malt whisky than any other ferry in the UK, and, indeed, very possibly the world.”

image via CalMac

The whisky cargo, besides being valuable from a dollars perspective, is also hazardous and requires being handled with extra care. It was this special handling, among other criteria, which netted the CalMac ferry its safety award from the British Safety Council. Other factors considered included “details of crew welfare through to first aid procedures, how health and safety hazards are determined to testing of emergency systems, and much more besides.”

“The safety of customers, crews and vessels across our fleet are of paramount importance at CalMac,” said Louis de Wolff, Head of Safety, Environment and Security at Caledonian MacBrayne, in a statement. “MV Finlaggan has worked hard to ensure that all systems are in place to deliver robust health, safety and welfare procedures, accurate and thorough reporting and compliance with an extensive set of maritime legislation, licensing and certification requirements.