Luederitz runs out of petrol

A FUEL crisis hit Luederitz on Wednesday, as both service stations in the town ran dry.Eugene le Grange, the son of the owner of Luederitz Bay Service Station, yesterday told The Namibian that a consignment of 6 000 litres of leaded petrol and 16 000 litres of unleaded petrol was expected to be delivered by yesterday evening.

By late afternoon, the delivery had not yet been made. Adri Louw, owner of Diamond Motors Service Station, said they had reserved 2 000 litres of petrol that would sustain them until Sunday.But he said the petrol is reserved for the Police, emergency services and tourists.He said the next shipment of fuel was expected on Monday.The service stations still have diesel to sell.The Namibian Oil Industry Association has so far insisted that there is no fuel crisis, saying that the country has enough fuel to weather a temporary disruption in supplies from South Africa.The disruption was caused by a shutdown of most South African oil refineries, which are being overhauled to produce and store unleaded petrol only from January.The shutdown took longer than expected, causing shortages in South Africa and neighbouring countries that get their fuel from there.Speculation about a looming petrol shortage at the height of the holiday season caused panic buying, which aggravated the problem.Adri Louw, owner of Diamond Motors Service Station, said they had reserved 2 000 litres of petrol that would sustain them until Sunday.But he said the petrol is reserved for the Police, emergency services and tourists.He said the next shipment of fuel was expected on Monday.The service stations still have diesel to sell.The Namibian Oil Industry Association has so far insisted that there is no fuel crisis, saying that the country has enough fuel to weather a temporary disruption in supplies from South Africa.The disruption was caused by a shutdown of most South African oil refineries, which are being overhauled to produce and store unleaded petrol only from January.The shutdown took longer than expected, causing shortages in South Africa and neighbouring countries that get their fuel from there.Speculation about a looming petrol shortage at the height of the holiday season caused panic buying, which aggravated the problem.