The UK has deployed its reserve tanker fleet to help alleviate the fuel crisis as more forecourts reopened across the country in a sign that the panic may be easing.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced that the pool of 80 government-owned tankers would be on the roads on Wednesday afternoon to boost deliveries of fuel to petrol stations across the country. “The trucks are driven by civilians and will provide additional logistical capacity to the fuel industry,” he said.
The announcement came as the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents the independent retailers that make up about two-thirds of the UK’s 8,000 petrol stations, said that approximately 27 percent of its members’ sites were out of fuel on Wednesday. That compared with 37 percent on Tuesday, and an estimated 50 to 90 percent on Sunday and Monday.
“There are encouraging signs that the crisis at the pumps is easing,” said Gordon Balmer, the PRA’s executive director.
Fuel retailers and suppliers – including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and the hauler Hoyer Petrolog — said they had met with Kwarteng on Wednesday and welcomed the deployment of the government tanker fleet.
“We remain confident that the situation will stabilize further in the coming days and encourage everyone to fill up as they normally would help forecourts return to normal,” the group said in a joint statement.
The government has been under increasing pressure to get a grip on the crisis, which began with limited disruption to fuel deliveries to petrol stations last week due to a shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers. It was followed by panic buying that drained supplies at the weekend and chaotic scenes on forecourts as motorists raced to refill their vehicles.
Balmer said the PRA had received reports that petrol station staff had faced
Completely unacceptable” verbal and physical abuse from customers over the
“Forecourts are trying their best to manage queues and ensure there