RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space
Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
 |  Subject: OZschwitz petrol stations run dry as Cootes trucks taken off the road by destructive statists  Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:53 am | |
| At least two Sydney petrol stations have completely run out of fuel after fuel tankers from the troubled Cootes fleet were taken off the road.
Petrol stations in Sydney are running out of fuel due to delivery problems. Photo: Glenn Hunt
The BP at Haberfield in Sydney's inner west is displaying signs on bowsers apologising for the “current disruption to the supply of fuel in Sydney” and telling customers the problem is “industry-wide and is the result of short-term logistics constraints”.
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It is understood the station ran out of fuel yesterday.
In Naremburn, another BP station has also run out of all types of petrol.
Cootes delivers fuel to more than one-third of NSW's petrol stations: BP, 7-Eleven and Shell, including the Shell-branded Coles Express sites.
The company grounded trucks in Victoria last week amid safety concerns and a number of vehicles are off the road in NSW after Roads Minister Duncan Gay ordered full compliance inspections.
BP confirmed on Monday that a shortage of Cootes trucks had disrupted the company's distribution network and stations in Sydney had run out of some types of petrol.
Company spokesman Jamie Jardine was unable to say how many of its 424 NSW stations had run short because the situation was changing “hour by hour”.
Asked on Tuesday how many BP stations had run completely dry, Mr Jardine said “I'm not in a position to provide a running commentary on stocks at individual service stations”.
“We are using all the resources available to us to maximise supply to our service stations and customers. We would urge our customers not to change their buying patterns,” he added.
Service Station Association senior manager Colin Long said petrol companies who relied solely on Cootes for transport “are going to have problems”.
He added that other fuel retailers, such as Caltex and independent stations, “have their own transport” and were not affected.
One smh.com.au reader reported petrol shortages at a Caltex and independent petrol station on Tuesday morning, saying he almost ran out of petrol.
Mr Long said motorists who could not find their normal grade of fuel may “shop around” at other petrol stations, however shortages at other branded stations would be “isolated”.
McAleese, the owner of Cootes Transport, is due to reveal on Tuesday the magnitude of the hit to its earnings from the crackdown on its trucking fleet in NSW and Victoria.
The transport company sought an extra day to prepare a review of the timing and details of a restructure of Cootes, which employs about 1000 people, after seeking a suspension of trading from the stock exchange.
Authorities made snap inspections of Cootes' fuel tankers in Victoria on Friday, which led to the grounding of 25 of the 35 trucks and trailers inspected. Faults included defects in brakes, air bags, loose bolts and oil leaks.
McAleese also faces the possibility of law firms encouraging shareholders to consider class actions.
The loss of the contracts came just three months after two people were killed and five injured when a Cootes fuel tanker lost control on a bend in Sydney's northern suburbs and burst into flames.
Authorities in NSW and Victoria have also issued Cootes with hundreds of defect notices, including those for ineffective brakes, oil and fuel leaks, steering, axle, suspension and exhaust failures, broken engine mounts and tread peeling from tyres.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/sydney-petrol-stations-run-dry-as-cootes-trucks-taken-off-the-road-20140217-32w9k.html#ixzz2tecIT24Z |
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