WATCH ABOVE: Drivers inside of Halifax are finally seeing some fuel deliveries easing the gas shortage, but outside it might be a few days before the situation in resolved. Global’s Ray Bradshaw reports.
DARTMOUTH – A gas shortage over the weekend saw a number of Nova Scotia service stations run dry.
But by Monday morning, one after another – tankers and smaller fuel trucks – loaded their tanks with gasoline at the Imperial Oil storage facility in Dartmouth and hit the road to replenish gas stations throughout Nova Scotia.
It all stemmed from a shipping delay from the U.S. Gulf Coast.
“They discovered while it was on route, product quality wasn’t what they wanted for Halifax, so they diverted it and scrambled around and got another boatload to come in from Europe,” said Dave Collins, the V.P. of Wilson Fuel Company Limited.
“So the boat shows up and they were waiting for it to pass quality product tests and we never got allowed to load, and then a third boat came in on Saturday night.”
Tests were done and the fuel trucks finally started loading. But it’s going to take time to restock the gas stations.
Wilson’s Fuel had gas at only 10 per cent of their outlets.
“We supply 50 outlets in Nova Scotia, five of them have product this morning,” said Collins. “There’s a regulatory limit on the number of hours a driver can drive in the run of a day so that’s also a limiting factor, so it’s going to take several days before everyone is back up with enough inventory to sell.”
Gas bars started running out last Thursday, causing frustration among drivers. The trend is still continuing for a family that stopped at a Mount Uniacke station.
“Third garage, no gas,” said a disappointed Jody Holmes.
“We drove all the way from Lower Sackville to come down here to get some gas because we need to get on the highway and go home and it’s not looking like it’s going to happen. We’re on empty right now. We don’t know what to do.”
Mariam Muise had a quarter of a tank and travelled from Halifax to Mount Uniacke in search of gas, with no luck.
“I am wondering what’s going on. When are we going to get gas?” asked Muise. “I inquired inside and they have no idea.”
Motorists who get gas once a week, also put a drain on supply.
“If there’s a fear of a shortage they say, ‘Maybe I better go top up just in case it lasts longer,'” said Collins.
He also said outlets closest to the terminal will get filled first. As for more distant locations, he said it could take up to four or five days.
Thankfully it wasn’t a heating oil shortage in winter.
“To have the heating oil run out like this would be truly devastating,” said Collins.
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