Gas stations in Eastern Bavaria empty: fuel bottleneck due to heat and drought
Created: 08/05/2022 15:02
By: Tanja Kipke
There are currently fuel bottlenecks at some Bavarian gas stations.
(Iconic image) © IMAGO/Peter Widmann
The drought in Bavaria is causing the river levels to drop.
Transport ships can no longer sail with a full load.
The result: petrol stations run empty.
Regensburg/Passau –
The heat of the past few weeks has had enormous consequences for Bayern.
The first districts are issuing bans due to the lack of water, Nuremberg even waters its trees with swimming pool water and the government of Upper Palatinate is calling for alarm level two for the Danube because fish are dying.
The levels of the streams and rivers have also dropped enormously in recent weeks due to the current weather conditions.
This leads to partly empty gas stations in eastern Bavaria.
Fuel bottleneck in East Bavaria: Ships cannot supply gas stations normally
At some gas stations in Lower Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate, drivers are currently no longer able to get any fuel.
As reported
by onetz.de
, a sign hung on the petrol pumps in Neu-Ulm at the weekend with the words "Fuel again from 7 p.m.".
Fuel was not available at other gas stations for several days.
The reason for the bottleneck?
The ongoing drought in Germany.
Due to the heat, the level of the big rivers would drop, so transport ships would not be able to drive with full loads, otherwise they would touch down on the river bed.
A spokesman for the Fuels and Energy trade association confirms this to BR.
But there are also restrictions on the rails and on the road.
Because of the corona pandemic, many train drivers are absent and truck drivers are currently in short supply.
(By the way: Our brand new Regensburg newsletter will keep you regularly informed about all the important stories from the World Heritage city and the Upper Palatinate. Register here.)
Video: Fuel price differences - Bavaria the most expensive, Berlin the cheapest
Gas stations in Bavaria empty: is there a petrol crisis looming soon?
Capacity problems in refineries are also a reason for the empty filling stations.
The OMV refinery in Vienna-Schwechat is currently out of service after an incident, as a spokesman for the Lower Bavarian mineral oil dealer Maier-Korduletsch in Vilshofen explains to BR.
Nevertheless, there is no reason to worry.
It can happen that a tank is empty at short notice, but it can usually be replenished quickly.
The logistics are responsible for most of the bottlenecks, the productions are running.
An expert from the petrol station interest group does not accept the fuel bottleneck quite so calmly.
He said to
nordbayern.de
: “If ships can no longer sail, a gallows period begins.
Then the question is: How large are the supplies in the tank farms along the rivers?” The drought is actually expected to last for some time, but it is currently not possible to predict whether the fuel bottleneck will get worse.
(tkip)
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