Editing Scapa Flow (section)

{{short description|Body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland}}
{{other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Scapa Flow
| native_name        = <!--{{native name}} or {{native name list}}-->
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| image              = image:Scapa Flow - Churchill Barrier 1 - kingsley - 29-JUN-09.JPG
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| caption            = Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009
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| location           = Orkney, Scotland
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| coordinates        = {{Coord|58|54|N|3|03|W|region:GB_type:waterbody|display =inline,title}}
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| pushpin_map             = Scotland
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{{Location map
|Scotland Orkney
|relief     = 1
|label      = <small>&nbsp;Scapa<br>&nbsp;Flow</small>
|lat        = 58.9
|long       = -3.05
|caption    = Location in the [[Orkney Islands]]
|marksize   = 5
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|background = 
|width      = 180
}}
[[File:Scapa Flow.svg|thumb|Scapa Flow location map]]

'''Scapa Flow''' ({{IPAc-en|'|s|k|ɑː|p|ə|,_|'|s|k|æ|p|ə}}; {{etymology|non|Skalpaflói|bay of the long isthmus}})<ref>''Scapa Flow: Graveyard of the German Fleet'', Will Springer. P. 25</ref> is a body of water in the [[Orkney|Orkney Islands]], Scotland, sheltered by the islands of [[Orkney Mainland|Mainland]], [[Graemsay]], [[Burray]],<ref name=george>S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973.</ref> [[South Ronaldsay]] and [[Hoy, Orkney|Hoy]]. Its sheltered waters have played an important role in travel, trade and conflict throughout the centuries. [[Vikings]] anchored their [[longship]]s in Scapa Flow more than a thousand years ago. It was the United Kingdom's chief [[navy|naval]] base during the [[World War I|First]] and [[World War II|Second]] World wars, but the facility was closed in 1956.

Since the [[Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow|scuttling of the German fleet]] after [[World War I]], its wrecks and their marine habitats form an internationally acclaimed [[Underwater diving|diving location]].

Scapa Flow hosts an oil port, the [[Flotta oil terminal]]. In good weather, its [[roadstead]] (water of moderate conditions) allows ship-to-ship transfers of [[Petroleum|crude oil]] product. The world's first ship-to-ship transfer of [[liquefied natural gas]] (LNG) took place in Scapa Flow in 2007 transferring 132,000m³ of LNG. This occurred in 2007 by Excelerate Energy between the vessels ''Excalibur'' and ''Excelsior''.