Delivery shortages in Bonn Why petrol stations in the region have no fuel
Bonn · In the past few days, some motorists have had to drive away from their petrol station and find another one. Petrol or diesel was temporarily unavailable. A bundle of causes is currently leading to delivery problems.
Over the past few days, some petrol stations in the Bonn/Rhine-Sieg region have temporarily run out of fuel. "Due to the low water in the Rhine, the cargo ships cannot be fully loaded," explains Alexander von Gersdorff, spokesman for the Fuels and Energy Business Association, which has merged with the Mineral Oil Business Association. As a result, some petrol stations could not be supplied as usual. Further supply problems are to be expected in the next few days. "We do not expect shortages on a large scale," von Gersdorff said.
Stephan Zieger, managing director of the Federal Association of Independent Petrol Stations (bft) based in Bonn, sees the low water level as well as the accident of a cargo ship on the Rhine as the cause. In addition to the low water levels and the temporary impassability of sections of the Rhine, Jörg Nielsen, spokesman for the Rheinland refinery in Wesseling, cites problems in rail logistics as the reason for the delivery problems. Shell is making every effort to ensure the best possible supply to customers, he said. "Nevertheless, temporary shortages cannot be ruled out at the moment," Nielsen said. The company is trying to minimise the impact, he added.
A considerable part of the fuel transport is done by Rhine ships. The record low levels of the Rhine in November 2018 have already affected the economy. Many motorists felt the effects in the form of significantly higher fuel prices, and some were faced with empty pumps at petrol stations in the meantime because there were supply bottlenecks. In November 2011 there were also already very low water levels on the Rhine, which meant that ships were not allowed to be fully loaded.
(Original text: Claudia Mahnke; Translation: Mareike Graepel)
